Modi lauds Karnataka's handling of Covid crisis

"I would also like to appreciate the efforts of the Karnataka government in handling the Covid-19 situation, Modi said while inaugurating through a video link the silver jubilee celebrations of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences here.

"Virus may be the invisible enemy but our corona warriors are invincible and in the battle against the invisible versus invincible our medical workers are sure to win," he said.

Modi urged people to deliberate and ideate on telemedicine, how to make gains in the health sector through 'Make in India' and how to incorporate more IT services into healthcare.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Governor Vajubhai Vala, Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, Deputy Chief Minister C. N. Ashwathnarayan were among those who participated in the event.

The Prime Minister called for a strategy to improve healthcare, its infrastructure and access to one and all, including Preventive Healthcare, Affordable Healthcare, and Improvements on Supply Side.

On Sunday, the southern state's Covid tally crossed 3,000-mark to settle at 3,221 cases, significantly lower than many other states.

Had it not been for several returnees from others state's, especially from Maharashtra, who account for a lion's share of new infections, Karnataka's tally would have been significantly lower.

Unlike before, the number of people contracting the virus from infected contacts has plummeted.

Similarly, Karnataka has also witnessed only 51 Covid deaths, though the first such death in the country occurred in this state.