Bengaluru,  Grappling with the rising number of new cases amid the pandemic's second wave, the Karnataka government on Wednesday set up a dedicated helpline "Aptamitra" to guide asymptomatic Covid patients isolated at home.

"The Aptamitra helpline will guide asymptomatic Covid patients under self-isolation at home on how to treat themselves to recover from the virus," state Health Minister K. Sudhakar told reporters here.

The helpline staff will daily call up all patients who tested Covid positive and are having mild symptoms on the course of treatment till they recover from the infection.

"Specialists with medical background and MBBS graduates have been posted to run the 24x7 helpline for guiding the patients," said Sudhakar.

Special counselling will also be offered to comorbid patients after collecting details on their ailments.

"In case the condition of home-isolated patients does not improve after a week, they will be advised to shift to Covid care centres set up by the state Health Department in cities and towns across the state," said the minister.

As about 10 per cent of active cases with severe symptoms are admitted to state-run or private hospitals for treatment, the department plans to have about 8,000 doctors to guide each patient isolated at home through the helpline.

According to the state Health Department's latest bulletin, a record 39,047 new cases were registered in a day, taking the state's Covid tally to 14,39,047, including 3,28,884 active cases. There were 229 deaths.