BENGALURU: With the number of Covid-19 cases on the rise in many countries, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will soon hold a meeting with senior officers to discuss precautionary measures to be taken in the state.
Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday informed the State Legislative Council that there are suggestions on making the use of masks compulsory indoors in public places, which will be discussed at the meeting. While there is no need to panic, people need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, he said.
The new Omicron variant BA.2 was first traced in the Philippines and is now found in around 40 countries. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, which had forecast the third wave in the country, has now indicated that if there is a fourth wave, it would be in August 2022, the minister said. While the extensive vaccination drive in the country will help fight the next wave, there is a need to follow Covid protocol, he added.
In Karnataka, the first dose coverage has been 101.7 per cent, with 4,97,67,326 doses; the second dose coverage is 96 per cent, with 4,69,70,758 doses, Sudhakar said. On the preparedness to deal with the fourth wave, the minister said the state had ramped up infrastructure after the first wave and now has 55,256 oxygenated beds, oxygen generation and storage capacity has been increased from 300 tonnes to 1070 tonnes, and 265 labs have been established to do tests, he said.
“Ewxperience gained while fighting the last three waves of the pandemic will help to effectively face the fourth wave, if it comes. We have made preparations and will continue to prepare, and people of the state need not panic, but we have to be alert.”