Not just hospital beds, search on for graveyards too as COVID-19 deaths climb

As Corona positive cases and deaths cimbed in Bengaluru, BBMP has started to hunt for places for cremation of bodies of the deceased. While the number of Corona positive cases, when compared to other Indian cities, is still lower, the recent spike in deaths have forced officials to find a graveyard to bury the COVID victims. Along with steps to increase the bed capacity to handle the COVID situation, officials are also not taking any chances and trying to find a place to bury the dead.

It should be noted that Karnataka till date has reported 207 deaths of which Bengaluru alone has seen 88 deaths. This includes four deaths on Sunday and the numbers are on the rise every passing day. On an average in the recent few days, Bengaluru has reported anywhere between 3-5 deaths every day.

Sources from the civic body maintai that officials have already started hunting for gomala land (pasture land for community use). They also revealed that they are looking at places on the outskirts of the city, which do not invite any opposition from the locals.

The issue was raised in the high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Saturday, who in turn, directed the Bengaluru Urban DC and BBMP officials to find a suitable place to bury the dead.

Highest single day spike
The number of fresh Corona positive cases broke all its previous records and reported 1,267 cases on Sunday. Bengaluru recorded a whopping 783 cases while the other districts recorded less than 100 cases. While Bengaluru has 3,314 positive cases, Karnataka tally crossed 13,000 mark and stood at 13,190.

As cases swell, the health department which used to divulge information on the source of infection of the fresh positive cases, chose to remove the column and keep it under wraps. The number of patients in the ICU was 197 on Saturday evening and jumped to 243 across the state by Sunday. State has 5,472 active cases.