BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday requested parents to refrain from sending children showing symptoms of fever, cold or flu, to schools and colleges. He also directed educational institutions to take strict measures to monitor student health and ensure that symptomatic children are sent home to prevent spread of the infection.
The request came during a high-level review meeting chaired by the CM at his residence, where he assessed Karnataka’s preparedness to deal with a potential surge in Covid-19 cases.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil and heads of the Covid task force attended the meeting.
While the state has not recorded a significant spike in Covid cases, Siddaramaiah said there should be no room for complacency. “There is no need to panic, but we must remain alert,” the CM said, instructing health officials to review the situation regularly, and be on alert for any sudden increase in infections.
Citing recent Covid data, the CM said the state only recorded a few cases since January and it was only now -- in the fourth week of May -- that there is a noticeable rise in cases. “By comparison, neighbouring states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have seen higher numbers -- 95, 66 and 56 cases respectively,” the CM said, and directed officials to keep ventilators, oxygen supplies and essential medicines ready. He emphasised that district hospitals across the state must be fully equipped and capable of handling any surge in cases.
Siddaramaiah advised vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children, elderly and patients with heart or lung ailments to wear masks as a precautionary measure. The CM also instructed health officials to make arrangements in hospitals to treat pregnant women locally rather than transferring them between facilities.
He also directed health department staff to remain in their posts and avoid going on leave. He called for the establishment of a round-the-clock Covid helpline for public assistance and suggested restarting screening at airports for incoming passengers if the situation demands it.
Reiterating that the state is already following guidelines issued by the central government, Siddaramaiah asked officials to ensure vaccine supplies are available in case of an outbreak, specifically with the emergence of new variants.
71 Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru; BBMP on alert
With Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike reporting 71 cases of Covid-19 infection, Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao said that the BBMP is only monitoring Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses (SARI) cases and is awaiting the Health Department’s direction for further plan of action.
The Commissioner held a meeting with all zonal and special commissioners regarding Covid-19 cases and monsoon preparedness at the BBMP head office on Monday. He said that, at present, South Bengaluru with 16 and Mahadevapura Zone with 14 cases were on the top of the chart.
“At present Covid-19 seems to be a limited infection. BBMP has not issued any home isolation advisory,” he said. Further steps will be taken based on directions from the State Health Department, he added.
When asked about the measures in the BBMP regarding managing and controlling Covid-19, Rao said that, as of now, the government has advised to test for Covid-19 only if there are any SARI cases.
“There is no advisory of requirement of home isolation yet from the state government. The number of cases under the BBMP is more compared to the rest of the state since the city has a population of 1.5 crore, resulting in bigger number,” he said.