Bengaluru COVID-19 patient left stranded by ambulance, forced to wait hours on street

Coronavirus

The patient was dropped outside the gates of Haj Bhavan, and refused entry due to a lack of beds at the facility.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

PTI/New Delhi Representative image

A 36-year-old COVID-19 patient was left waiting for hours outside the gates of Haj Bhavan in Hegde Nagar on July 5 after a BBMP ambulance allegedly left him there due to a lack of beds at other hospitals. The patient, who had a cough and was experiencing difficulty in breathing, was not allowed to enter Haj Bhavan as there were no beds available, and since the facility is designated for quarantine and not medical treatment. Sarah, a volunteer for Mercy Angels, said in a statement that around midnight, the patient was dropped by BBMP officials outside Haj Bhavan. “The patient wasn’t allowed inside Haj Bhavan, which is a quarantine centre, due to lack of beds. He was sick, had a cough and difficulty breathing. We got connected to 108 after a long time and they blatantly said that this is not their department,” Sarah said. Though volunteers with Project Smile pleaded with 108 officials to send an ambulance to pick up the patient and take him to a private hospital in Shivajinagar, the call centre operator allegedly declined due to a lack of beds. The volunteer argued with the 108 operator, saying “Will you allow the man to die on the street in the middle of the night? 108 is for emergencies, it is your duty.” However, they refused the request, Sarah alleged. The 108 operator finally agreed to help shift the patient, but Sarah said that the ambulance from 108 did not show up. “They quoted several regulations that patients should have a letter from the hospital. They also said that it is not their responsibility, but after an angry exchange of words, they finally took the number of the patient. But they didn’t call him [even at] 2:30 am. 108 did not respond and [did not] pick up the patient. 1912 [BBMP’s new COVID-19 emergency helpline] did not give any solution. Apthamitra Sahayavani did not give any solution. This is a terrible state of affairs when a patient is left on the streets to die,” Sarah said in a statement. Finally, the patient was picked up by a friend, and taken to HBS hospital in Shivajinagar. Nida, one of the people volunteering with Project Smile, who gives oxygen cylinders to those in need, said, “I tried all the helplines and none worked. Finally, the patient was taken to HBS Hospital which is not yet fully equipped for COVID, but a duty doctor saw the patient and saw that the oxygen saturation was around 86 (anything less than 90 needs immediate attention). Project Smile supplied an oxygen cylinder to the patient and taught him how to use it.” Nida says that the patient was then taken to his house, and then the BBMP picked him up at around 10.30 am on July 6 and left him outside the gate of Victoria Hospital. “They didn’t even take him to the COVID ward, they just left him outside. If you know Victoria, you have to go a considerable distance inside. He walked with great difficulty, taking shelter among some trees, but even then he was not allowed to go inside. They made him wait for at least six hours until a bed was arranged for him.” The patient is now stable and speaking with his family members, his brother told TNM. The patient has been admitted to Vani Vilas Hospital, and is said to be recovering. According to reports, BBMP commissioner BH Anil Kumar has noted that strict action would be taken against the ambulance driver, and that he will check on the helpline operations as well.

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Stark racial disparities emerge as families struggle to get enough food

The pandemic has left Black and Hispanic households much worse off than white families.

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Karnataka scraps institutional quarantine for travellers from Maharashtra

Coronavirus

All interstate travellers will now undergo 14-day home quarantine upon arrival in the state.

TNM Staff

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka government has revised quarantine rules for interstate travellers, scrapping the seven-day institutional quarantine mandated for travellers coming to the state from Maharashtra.  The new rules state that travellers coming to Karnataka from other states, including Maharashtra, will be placed in 14-day home quarantine.  Swabs of the travellers will be taken if they develop symptoms during the home quarantine period.  Testing will be mandatory for symptomatic persons arriving in Karnataka from any other state. This is not limited to travellers from Maharashtra alone.  The state government had earlier on June 8 mandated a three-day institutional quarantine period for travellers coming from Tamil Nadu and New Delhi. This was revised in an order issued on June 26, which restricted institutional quarantine for only those travellers who returned from Maharashtra.  This rule has now been revised and interstate travellers will now undergo home quarantine for two weeks upon their arrival in the state.  Data shared by the Karnataka government's COVID-19 war room showed that people returning from Maharashtra accounted for the most number of COVID-19 cases in the state (among those with travel history). "The quarantine norms are regularly reviewed and calibrated with the prevailing Unlock 2 guidelines, infusion of technology and community involvement to enforce strict home quarantine," read the notification issued by Manjunath Prasad,  nodal officer for inter-state travel from Karnataka.  Officials in Bengaluru are exploring ways to intensify home quarantine rules and take action against violators. Until June 20, there were more than 1.3 lakh home quarantine violations in the state, with the highest being in Bengaluru. Karnataka has reported 23474 cases so far of which 13251 are active cases. A sharp spike in cases has been reported in Bengaluru in the past week with the city now grappling with 9580 cases of which 8167 cases are currently active cases.  The city has also recorded 145 of the 372 deaths of COVID-19 patients in the state. 

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Bengaluru has 1,423 active containment zones, cases climb in West zone

Coronavirus

The most number of containment zones are in West Bengaluru, which has 792 active containment zones.

TNM Staff

Containment zones on July 5

Bengaluru currently has 1,423 active containment zones in the city, according to the COVID-19 War Room bulletin issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Sunday, July 5. The most number of containment zones are in West Bengaluru, which has 792 active containment zones, one of which has been extended. Bengaluru East has the second-highest number of containment zones at 242. While Bengaluru South has 118 zones, Mahadevpura has 124, Bommanahali has 64, Yelahanka has 28, RR Nagara has 47 and Dasarhalli has eight active containment zones. 91 containment zones in the city have returned to normal, as of Sunday. While the BBMP has not released a list of all the containment zones, on Sunday, the COVID-19 war room bulletin noted the wards which reported more than 10 cases in the last 24 hours. In Bengaluru East’s Shantala Nagar ward, 59 cases were reported, West division’s Charajpet reported 32 new cases, while Kadu Malleshwar ward reported 27 new cases. East division’s Sampangiram Nagar has reported 25 new cases. Chickpete reported 23 new cases in the past 24 hours. Wards which reported between 10-20 cases are as follows: Basavanapura and Gandhi Nagar reported 18 cases, Dharmaraya Swamy Temple ward (South division) reported 17 cases, Thanisandra, Jayanagar and KR market wards each reported 16 cases, Suddagunte Palya, Yediyur, Konena Agrahara and Doodaa Bidarakallu each reported 13 cases, Madivala, Marathahalli, Subhash Nagar, Pattabhiram Nagar, HBR layout, BTM Layout and JP Nagar wards each reported 11 new cases in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Hombegowda Nagar, Aramane Nagara, Banasavadi and Bharathi Nagar each reported 10 cases each in the last 24 hours. The BBMP also released a small snapshot of the wards in Bengaluru which have reported more than 50 cases till date. While Bengaluru East has 7 wards, Bengaluru West has 8 wards, Bengaluru South has 18 wards, there are two wards in Yelahanka, two in Mahadevpura, three in Rajarajeswari Nagar and six wards in Bommanahalli that have reported over 50 cases till. Bengaluru reported 1,235 new coronavirus cases in the Sunday evening bulletin, taking the total number of cases in the city to 9,580. Out of this, 8,167 cases are active cases. The city has reported a total of 146 deaths, according to the bulletin, taking the mortality rate in the city to 1.52%. In the last 24 hours, 26 percent of the cases in Bengaluru have been reported from Bengaluru West division with 289 cases, 25% of cases have been reported from Bengaluru East, and 24% of cases have been reported from Bengaluru South. Newer BBMP divisions reported lower case rates: Mahadevpura reported 8% of cases, RR Nagara and Bommanahalli reported 6% each, while Yelahanka reported 5% of cases. The Dasarahalli division reported less than 1% of cases reported in bengaluru with just 4 cases. Bengaluru has so far conducted 1,24,431 tests. The COVID-19 bulletin also noted that Bengaluru had a positivity rate of 15.89% over the last ten days.

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Karnataka to set up ICUs at COVID Care Centres

Coronavirus

"Initially, 10 ICUs will be set up at every COVID Care Centre in Bengaluru and in other cities and towns across the state subsequently," Dy CM Ashwath Narayan said.

IANS

PTI/New Delhi

With coronavirus cases surging and hospitals saturated with patients, the Karnataka government is setting up intensive care units (ICUs) at COVID Care Centres (CCC) in the state for severe cases needing oxygen, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said on Sunday. Covid Care Centres are usually meant for patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. "Initially, 10 ICUs will be set up at every CCC in Bengaluru and in other cities and towns across the state subsequently," Narayan said in a statement in Bengaluru. The state government has set up CCCs at the GKVK campus, the Haj Bhavan and the Art of Living Foundation campus in the city so far. The government has also set up a more than 10,000 bed CCC facility in BIEC, on Tumkur road, on the outskirts of the city. "About 100 ICUs will be set up soon at the new CCCs opened at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Ayurveda College, and Koramangala Indoor Stadium," said Narayan. The sprawling BEIC in the city's northwest will soon have 10,100 beds for treating Covid patients and asymptomatic cases from state-run hospitals. Read: Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre converted into 10,000-bed COVID facility The state government has also relieved all Health Department employees from administrative and non-medical duties to depute them at the CCCs. On complaints about the poor quality of food served to Covid patients and the medical staff, Narayan warned the vendors of cancelling their contracts if they did not supply good quality food as per the guidelines. The minister also directed the Health Department to ensure adequate supply of drugs and medical equipment to all CCCs and state-run hospitals for treating Covid patients. With a record 1,925 new cases reported on Sunday, the state's tally touched 23,474, including 13,251 active after 9,847 were discharged (including 603 on Sunday), while 372 succumbed to the infection since March 9, with 37 more deaths on Sunday. Of the total cases across the state, Bengaluru accounted for 1,235, taking its tally to 9,580, including 8,167 while 145 died so far. Also Read: ‘Have beds and equipment but no doctors’: Bengaluru doctor makes fervent appeal on video

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Bengaluru woman pens ordeal of trying to get home on a BMTC bus amid lockdown

Transport

A Bengaluru-based researcher has written to BMTC MD seeking an increase in bus services to ease commuter woes.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representative image credit: Raju Mahadevan on Twitter

Bengaluru is facing a major health crisis with a spurt in COVID-19 cases and coupled with the 8 pm shutdown and reduced bus services, the limits on the number of passengers on each bus have resulted in those without private vehicles finding themselves at a disadvantage. Incidentally, women are the worst-affected. A Bengaluru-based researcher working on labour issues has documented her harrowing experience on Friday night detailing how she and a few other women had to wait for a long time before they could get a seat on a bus and reach their homes before the 8 pm curfew begins.   In her email, she elaborated how she had waited at the BEL circle bus stop (towards MS Palya) on Friday evening for 45 minutes before she could board a bus.  In an email written to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Managing Director C Shikha, Harpreet Kaur said, “I'm writing to draw your attention to an issue bus commuters are facing due to the physical distancing rules put in place in the light of COVID-19, and the 8 pm to 5 am night curfew. As buses reach seating capacity quickly on the Sadashivanagar police station to MS Palya/Sambhram college route, many commuters, especially women, are asked to deboard by conductors, many of whom are insensitive to the fact that a lot of women rely on public transport and have to reach home before the night curfew begins at 8 pm.” Harpreet described in her letter that multiple buses came by the stop at BEL Circle, but they were not allowed to board the buses since there were no women seats available. “I waited at the BEL circle bus stop (towards MS Palya) yesterday for 45 minutes before I could board a bus. It was pouring and there were some 50 people in the bus stop, those waiting for a bus, and bikers who'd come to take shelter from the rain. Only 5-6 of us were women,” she wrote in the letter. “Between 6.50 pm and 7.35 pm, two 401 buses stopped and in both these buses, there were no seats for women so we were not allowed to board. Then, at 7.35 pm, another 401 bus stopped and although this wasn't my direct bus, three-four other women and I decided to get in. We were asked to deboard again because all women's seats were taken. Then, I saw that two men had occupied seats reserved for women. By this time, the other women had gotten off. I told the conductor that I'm not going to get off and that he should tell the men to deboard instead.” She said at this moment, two other men on the bus asked her to deboard, as according to them, she was holding up other passengers. She then tried to reason with the conductor that she along with other women had been waiting for a long time. She even warned that she would take photos of two men occupying ladies seats. She said that this was not the first instance that she had to face this kind of situation. She said, “Either this, or the buses don't stop. This has happened at BEL circle bus stop, Sadashivanagar police station (towards BEL circle) and at MS Palya (towards Sambhram college). A lot of women working in retail stores at BEL road have to take the bus home and they've been refused entry so many times at 7.30 pm, when there's just half an hour left for the night curfew to start.”  Harpreet concluded saying, “I'd like to point out that if the BMTC is making rules relating to physical distancing owing to the pandemic, it should also arrange more buses, at least in routes that see a lot of footfall. Failing to do so will only exacerbate commuters' issues and make BMTC complicit in apathy, especially towards working-class women who may not have the luxury of working from home and have to reach home before the start of the night curfew but can only afford public transport to commute to work. I'd request you to look into this and also sensitize the BMTC staff members to these issues.” BMTC MD C Shikha told TNM she is yet to read the email but assured that she will examine the issue. TNM has earlier reported how limited bus services inadvertently affect women and informal workers negatively since bus services resumed since the onset of the pandemic. Read: Investing in Bengaluru's buses with safety measures can help revive economy: Experts

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Bengaluru: 1235 new COVID-19 cases, 16 deaths confirmed on Sunday

Coronavirus

With 302 persons discharged following their recovery on the day, the number of active cases undergoing treatment are at 8167 in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

In yet another spike in new COVID-19 cases reported in Karnataka, the state reported 1925 new cases on Sunday, of which 1235 cases were reported from Bengaluru alone.  With 302 persons discharged following their recovery on the day, the number of active patients are 8167 in the state capital.  Following the trend of the past week, only 19 patients who tested positive were categorized as patients either with SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) or ILI (influenza like illness) while all the other patients had no relevant travel or contact history. The only other district reporting more than 100 cases on Sunday was Dakshina Kannada where the number of active cases are at 663. Ballari reported 90 cases, while Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, and Udupi, Dharwad reported 90, 51, 49 and 45 cases each. Bidar (29), Mysuru (25), Koppal (22) and Uttara Kannada (21) were the only other districts reporting more than 20 new cases on the day. As of date, the number of active cases is less than 200 for all districts barring Bengaluru, Kalaburagi (378), Dakshina Kannada (663) , Ballari (657), Dharwad (312) and Hassan (231). Patients in ICU A total of 243 patients undergoing treatment are in intensive care units and here too Bengaluru fares the worst. 132 of the 243 patients are from Bengaluru with Dharwad being a distant second with 15 patients being treated in ICU. Kalaburagi (12), Raichur and Ballari have 10 patients each needing intensive care. Deaths On Sunday, 37 new COVID-19 related fatalities were also confirmed taking the state COVID-19 death toll to 372 of which 145 are from Bengaluru. 16 of the COVID-19 deaths in the state that was confirmed in the state were from Bengaluru. Bidar fared second worst with 10 fatalities confirmed for the day. Only Belagavi (2) had more than one case fatality confirmed. 

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