BENGALURU: The increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka, especially in Bengaluru, has now started to worry those in the corridors of power as well. With the spike in the number of cases whose source of transmission is still untraceable, bureaucrats, ministers and politicians cutting across party lines are said to have been spooked. Covid-19 seems to have hit closer home after Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar’s family tested positive earlier this week. Following the scare, right from Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah have instructed their staff to take stricter precautions.
“Given the increasing number of cases and the spike in infection, there will neither be meetings nor entry inside for citizens. Request you to cooperate,” says a makeshift cardboard placard hanging outside Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s house in Bengaluru. He had undergone a heart surgery only last year and is taking all precautions to avoid public interaction. On Tuesday, he was sharing the stage with KPCC president D K Shivakumar and a host of Congress leaders.
The staff, officers and family members are said to be worried about the risk 78-year-old Yediyurappa runs every day as he meets citizens, officers and guests at his residence and offices. “People who come to visit, including officers, do not realise how crucial social distancing is and crowd around the CM,” said a worried kin of Yediyurappa.
To address these issues of the Chief Minister’s safety, his staff is working towards reducing the number of physical meetings in a day. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister’s schedule was kept reserved with no official meetings or work. The CMO is also contemplating adding tables on either side of the CM’s chair to stop people from crowding around him. Sources from his office suggest that the Chief Minister has already undergone Covid-19 tests at least twice in the last month and has tested negative. As a matter of precaution, the CM was tested for Covid-19 repeatedly given his continuous interaction with people and travel, they said.