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Covid curbs may return in K’taka
The chief minister said that he has already spoken with the district officials of Kodagu, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada and other places
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday empowered district officials to assess and impose any additional restrictions and containment measures to control the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the southern state.
The possibilities of reviving the restrictions comes at a time when Karnataka and some of its 30 districts, including Bengaluru, are witnessing a sudden surge in new infections.
“In the last few days there were some relaxations to the restrictions but now we will make it more strict,” chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Friday.
The chief minister said that he has already spoken with the district officials of Kodagu, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Dakshina Kannada and other places and will hold another round of talks with officials from other parts of the state on controlling the spike in new infections. He also said that there is a need to tighten the borders and asserted on compulsory testing to stop the spread of the virus. “We have to tighten our borders. Conduct compulsory testing, contact tracing of outsiders and strengthen our health infrastructure,” Bommai said.
Karnataka on Wednesday saw cases go beyond the 2,000 mark from 1,531 a day before, registering an over 30% spike and adding to fears of a new round of infections. On Friday, the state reported 1,890 new infections, the state health department stated.
In July, there were over 56,000 new infections reported in Karnataka, data from the state health department shows.
During the same time, Bengaluru has seen over 12,654 new infections, indicating that India’s IT capital continues to be the top contributor of new Covid-19 cases in the state.
“Daily, there are over 400-500 new infections being reported (in Bengaluru). When compared to the previous wave it is lower but even then the virus is between us and in the society,” Gaurav Gupta, the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said on Friday.
The vaccination drive in Karnataka is also lagging behind even though it remains one of the top most states in the country to inoculate its citizens, data shows. The state has administered 3,00,12,137 doses so far with an average of just 200,000 to 300,000 lakh per day so far, according to information on cowin portal.
Out of this, the first dose accounts for 2,36,10,569 while the number of second dose is 64,01,568, according to data on CoWin on Friday till 9.30 pm.
Bommai said that he conveyed concerns of vaccine shortage to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The chief minister also said that the Prime Minister has asked for Karnataka’s requirement and shortages and assured to set right the process in order to increase vaccination drive in the state.
