Amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Bengaluru and other important districts along with senior ministers and officials of his government.
The daily average of fresh Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru has reached around 1,377 while the city recorded 16,921 cases in just the last two weeks.
"Covid cases are rising in Bengaluru at an alarming rate, which is a cause of concern. Daily average cases are around 1,377 and positive cases are 16,921 in the last 14 days," Yediyurappa said.
The Bengaluru city is witnessing the maximum number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, a state that has been hit by a second wave of the pandemic.
However, the Karnataka government is not considering another lockdown in the city for now. After meeting the officials, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said there would be no lockdown or curfew.
Karnataka bans protests, no lockdown
The Karnataka CM also said that the state government has decided to ban all kinds of protests in the state for 15 days from Monday, as he ruled out any lockdown for now.
Asking people to cooperate by wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing, he said officials have been instructed to take strict measures against those not wearing masks from tomorrow itself.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yediyurappa said tracing, testing and treatment is being strengthened.
"In order to contain the disease, I appeal to the public to observe proper COVID restrictions and avoid crowding, otherwise it will become extremely difficult to bring the situation under control," he warned.
Health Minister K Sudhakar, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Education Minister Suresh Kumar were among the ministers present at the meeting in addition to top officials.
Neighbouring Maharashtra was witnessing more than 40,000 cases everyday, while in Karnataka it is now about 3,000 and about 2,000 in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said.
Karnataka CM rules out closure of schools, colleges
Ruling out the closure of schools and colleges for now, in response to a question, he said no gathering of people in the name of protests and demonstrations will be allowed in the state for 15 days, and strict measures will be taken with regard to marriages and events following the guidelines in terms of the number of people attending.
Regarding the by-election-related rallies, he said "we will not allow big gatherings, and strict instructions will be given in this regard soon."
Noting that infections were reported more in the age group of 20-40, Yediyurappa said "mortality rate is low and and most of those cases are 60 years and above group."
He said, upto 60,000 tests were being done in Bengaluru city, and 6.61 lakh people have been vaccinated in the city. Sufficient hospital beds were available, the Chief Minister said. COVID care centres with 100 beds each have been set up at HAL and Haj Bhavan and a 250-bed centre also will start operations from April 5 at Koramangala indoor stadium in the city.
In addition, private hospitals have been asked to be prepared to reserve beds for Covid patients.
Stating that there was no shortage of funds for Covid management, Yediyurappa said ₹150 crore has already been released and if required, more funds will be released.
"It is a relief that the Covid numbers are low in slums, but it is increasing in apartments, and special vaccination drives are being planned for apartments," he said. Instructions will be given to control parties or events there, the Chief Minister added.
He said the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah has written to him on containing the second wave of Covid-19 in a scientific way and by not imposing any lockdown that may impact normal life and it was also discussed in today's meeting.
Karnataka sees 2,792 new Covid infections
Meanwhile, Karnataka on Monday logged around 2792 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the cumulative total to 9,89,804.
For the past few days, the state has been recording over 2,500 new infections each day. On Saturday, 2,886 cases were recorded, 2,566 on Friday, while on Thursday, a total of 2,523 people were found to be infected.
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 1,742, Bidar 247, Kalaburagi 118, Mysuru 110, Udupi 71 and Tumakuru 60 followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases with a total of 4,29,915 followed by Mysuru 55,557 and Ballari 39,715.
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