<span style="color: #222222;">Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar has informed that, starting January, all the Government district hospitals in the state will conduct all medical tests free of cost. Inaugurating various facilities in Belagavi medical college today, he said the district hospitals will be equipped to offer medical tests for free. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">He also informed that there is a plan to merge Health and Medical Education departments under one banner for better coordination. Speaking about plans to distribute Covid vaccine when they come, the minister informed that the vaccine will be distributed simultaneously in all the districts. The facility to store the vaccines, he added, has already been made. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">He has issued instructions to Health officers to visit primary Health Centres to know firsthand the problems faced by them in their day to day treatment of patients. In another decision taken by the Health department, it has been decided to discontinue reserving 50 percent beds in private hospitals as the beds in the Government hospitals are now available with decline in the Covid cases in the recent days. However the critical patients can still be referred to the super speciality hospitals in the private sector.</span><br />