Expectedly, the state government welcomed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's announcement extending the COVID-19 lockdowntill May 3 and said it would be strictly implement theCentre's guidelines which will be issued on Wednesday.
A total of ten coronavirus deaths have been reported sofar in the state with two men, aged 76 and 69, becoming thelatest fatalities to the disease in Bengaluru and Vijayapurarespectively.
The city man, who was tested positive on April 12, hada history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) anddied at a designated hospital here while the other, husband ofa positive patient, at a hospital in Vijayapura.
Two patients, a 55-year-old man from Kalaburagi and a 65-year-old man from Bengaluru urban had passed away last night.
As of 5 PM on Tuesday, cumulatively 260 COVID-19 positivecases have been confirmed in the state and it included tendeaths and 71 discharges, a health department bulletin said.
Out of 179 active cases, 175 patients (including 1pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals andare stable, while four are in ICU.
Thirteen new positive cases, including the two people whodied in Bengaluru on Monday night and Vijayapura on Tuesday.
The eleven others are three each from Bagalkote andKalaburagi, two each from Bengaluru Urban, one each fromChikkaballapura, Belagavi and Bhatkal in Uttara Kannadadistrict.
Among the 13, nine are contacts of patients alreadytested positive, two are with Severe Acute RespiratoryInfection (SARI), one with travel history to Delhi and theother is with a history of travel from Hindupur by a two-wheeler.
Contact tracing was in progress for all the cases, thedepartment said.
Nine out of total 260 cases detected and confirmed inthe state so far, are transit passengers of Kerala.
From across the state most number of infections have beenreported in Bengaluru with 69 cases, followed by Mysuru 48 andBelagavi 18.
Among those dead are three from Kalaburagi, two fromBengaluru urban, and one each from Chikkaballapura, Bagalkote,Vijapura, Gadag and Tumakuru.
A total of 11,107 samples were collected for testing sofar, out of which 1,090 on Tuesday alone.
So far 10,554 samples have reported as negative, and outof them 982 reported negative on Tuesday, the bulletin said.
Welcoming the lockdown extension, Chief Minister B SYediyurappa appealed to the people to voluntarily co-operatewith the government to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The lockdown came into effect on March 25 and was to endon Tuesday midnight and Karnataka was among those states whichsought extension.
State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the lockdownwould be tightened further by imposing more restrictions onunnecessary movement of people, erecting more barricades andintensified checks among others.
He said the Centre, in the days to come, would micromanage things aimed at controlling the spread of the virus byeffectively implementing the lockdown.
He pointed out that Modi had said that after April 20,the situation at taluk at district level would be analysed,based on which a decision on easing curbs would be taken areawise.
Bommai said orders have been issued through the DGP toensure that an ADGP rank official is sent to monitor andsupervise measures in districts like Bidar, Gulbarga,Vijayapura, Belagavi, Chikkaballapura, Mysuru, DakshinaKannada, where there are more coronavirus cases.
The Karnataka labour department has directed privatesector employers in the state not to lay off workers and paythem wages on the due date without any deduction during thelock down. KSUVS VS