Karnataka CM Bommai calls meeting with health dept over COVID-19 surge

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai on Saturday called a meeting of experts of the health and disaster department to discuss the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.

While speaking to ANI, Bommai said, "I have called a meeting of experts of health and disaster departments today in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Kerala and clusters in a few colleges in Dharwad and Bengaluru."

As many as 99 more medical college students and faculty members were tested COVID-19 positive in Karnataka's Dharwad, taking the total number of affected medical students to 281 on Saturday, informed Dharwad District Collector Nitesh Patil.

Karnataka reported 402 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths on Saturday. As per the state's health department, the state has 6,611 active cases of infection. Karnataka has recorded 29,94,963 infections since the onset of the pandemic last year.

With 277 recoveries reported in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries climbed to 29,50,130. The death toll is 38,193. Of the six deaths reported on Friday, one each was reported in Bengaluru Urban, Dakshina Kannada, Dharwada, Hassana, Kodagu and Raichuru.