BS Yediyurappa says officials should focus on control of COVID-19 by providing timely treatment. (File)
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has directed officials to take action against hospitals that deny admission to COVID-19 patients "unnecessarily" as he stressed on prompt and quality treatment to bring down the number of deaths.
Mr Yediyurappa, who is holding meetings to review the situation in all the eight zones in the city witnessing spike in the coronavirus cases, also stressed on making tracing more effective to make sure the pandemic did not spread further.
Officials should take immediate action as per rules in case there was delay in ambulances picking up infected patients or hospitals denying admission unnecessarily, he said, giving a series of instructions amid rising cases.
"Officials should focus on control of COVID-19 by providing timely treatment to those infected. Tests should be conducted in large numbers to identify those infected, and rules should be followed strictly in containment zones," Mr Yediyurappa was quoted as saying by his office in a release.
He said priority should be given to obtain test results at the earliest, within 24 hours.
"Avoid unnecessary rush at hospitals by admitting asymptomatic and those without any comorbidities. Ensure that beds are immediately available to needy patients," he said. Home isolation and COVID care centres have been prescribed for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients.
With the state capital reporting spike in cases, Yediyurappa is holding the review meetings with Ministers, MLAs and officials of all eight zones separately on Wednesday and Thursday.
Aimed at effectively managing the pandemic in Bengaluru, Mr Yediyurappa on July 9 appointed Ministers and senior IAS officers as in-charge for each zone in the city.
The Chief Minister also instructed officials to ensure effective management of COVID hospitals and care centres with food supply, treatment, cleanliness among other things, and see to that there are no complaints.
"If there are complaints, respond to them immediately. If COVID patient comes to any hospital seeking treatment, admit them and provide them with initial treatment and later depending on the situation and need they can be shifted to another hospital," he added.
Asking them to make regular visits to hospitals to check facilities and rectify if there were any faults, he directed them to brief the incharge Ministers daily and him weekly once.
They should fix targets for bringing down the number of infections in their zones, he said and issued directions for taking action against officials who did not report for duty without valid reasons.
As of Wednesday, cumulatively 75,833 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state. This included 1,519 deaths and 27,239 discharges.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the districts with a total of 36,993 infections. Out of the biggest single-day spike 4,764 fresh cases in the state on Wednesday, the district alone accounted for 2,050.