BENGALURU: On Thursday, the first visitors who started trickling into Krishna, the CM’s Home Office, around 9 am, were surprised to see the security personnel direct them to the makeshift Covid-19 testing centre which has been set up near the entrance gate.
This is because visitors, who have an official appointment to meet Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa at Krishna, will henceforth have to mandatorily get an RT-PCR test done and take the report with them.
They will be allowed entry only if they test negative. The new protocol kicked in on Thursday and this is the first time such a restriction has been imposed. Yediyurappa contracted Covid-19 and recovered from it in August.
he testing unit is manned by two health department officials wearing Personal Protection Equipment. Tests were carried out on all visitors, including politicians and bureaucrats.
One visitor who met the CM told TNIE, “Once the officials collected the swab from the nose and throat, they processed it and returned to me with a negative report in about less than 15 minutes. Only then, I was allowed to enter the CM’s (home) office.’’
Additional Chief Secretary (health) Jawaid Akhtar said, “Every visitor will be tested and only after a test report is negative, is one allowed into the office. It will keep everybody safe.’’
Yediyurappa had tested positive in August and was admitted in Manipal Hospital for about nine days and discharged after he tested negative.
After he returned from the hospital, he was advised mandatory home isolation for about five-six days when he was under the observation of a team of doctors.
After completing the term of home isolation, he participated in the Independence Day function on August 15, his first public event after recovering from Covid-19.
Steps should have been taken earlier, say BSY aides
The Chief Minister’s close circle of advisors, bureaucrats and other well-wishers said these measures should have been taken earlier. However, they said that the testing kits were not available then.
They said this is a welcome test and should be adhered to strictly.
The CMO said number of visitors on an average were about 200-300 plus daily at Krishna and about 100 plus at Kaveri which is the CM’s official residence.
Mortality rate
Bengaluru recorded yet another single-day spike in cases on Thursday with 5,121 people testing positive, bringing the positivity rate to 13.64%.
Now, Bengaluru is second only to New Delhi in terms of positive cases, followed by Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The mortality rate is 1.42%, the State’s lowest since July.