At a time when India has been reporting over 3 lakh new coronavirus cases daily, around 3,000 people infected with the deadly virus have gone missing!
Yes, you heard it right.
It happened in Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru, one of the worst-affected cities in the country.
According to the state’s Revenue minister R Ashoka, 2,000 to 3,000 people in Bengaluru are trying to hide as they have switched off their mobile phones and left home.
The government has asked police to track the missing people. But that’s easier said than done as most of them can’t be contacted on phone.
“We are giving free medicines to people, which can control 90% of cases, but they (COVID-infected people) have switched off their phones. They will reach the hospitals in a critical stage to desperately look for ICU beds. This is what is happening now,” the minister told newspersons.
He requested COVID-positive persons to keep their cell phones on so that government officials can reach them for contact tracing and treatment follow-ups.
“I pray to them with folded hands that COVID-19 cases will only increase due to this. It is wrong when you try for ICU beds at the last moment,” the minister said.
Karnataka reported 39,047 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, of whom 22,596 were from Bengaluru. Out of 229 deaths in the city on Tuesday, the capital city accounted for 137.
The state government has imposed a 14-day lockdown, which started on Tuesday night.
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