'About 3,000 Covid-19 Patients Bengaluru Missing': Karnataka Revenue Minister As Cases Surge In State

"I pray to them with folded hands that COVID cases will only increase due to this (behaviour)", said Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka.

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Bengaluru: On Wednesday, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka claimed that nearly 3000 Covid-19 infected people have gone missing and many have switched off their phone. After recently finding out that Bengaluru officials were only contacting only 4 persons instead of the mandated 20 the Karnataka government had recently increased its contact tracing activity. 

Police have been asked to trace them, the minister told reporters.

“We are giving free medicines to people, which can control 90% of cases, but they have (Covid-19 infected people) switched off their mobile phones. They reach the hospitals in a critical stage to desperately look for ICU beds. This is what is happening now,” the minister said in Bengaluru according to PTI. 

Many of the infected people are either no informing the officials about their whereabout or have switched off their phones. He added, "I feel that at least 2,000 to 3,000 people in Bengaluru have switched off their phones and left their houses.We don't know where they have gone".

"I pray to them with folded hands that COVID cases will only increase due to this (behaviour).It is wrong when you reach for ICU beds at the last moment," the minister appealed to the people keep their phone switched on and that police have to asked to trace them. 

The government has imposed a lockdown for 14 days restricting unnecessary movement of people starting from Tuesday night to contain COVID cases, which is rising at an alarming proportion.

Over 30,000 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday including over 17,000 in Bengaluru while the active cases have exceeded three lakh in the state of which two lakh are in the state capital.