BSY pitches for Covid jabs to all age groups
BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday said three Covid-19 care centres will be set up in Bengaluru to address the rising number of cases. “The positivity rate, as of March 15 in Karnataka, was 1.65 per cent. Cases are on the rise, especially in Bengaluru and districts that share their borders with Maharashtra and Kerala. We will expand our vaccination drive,” the CM said.
Participating in a video conference of Chief Ministers with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yediyurappa also pushed for Covid-19 vaccinations for all, irrespective of age or vulnerabilities. He said Karnataka will enhance vigil on the state’s borders — where cases are on an upward swing — and invest in awareness campaigns, considering the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for testing and tracing to be enhanced in Bengaluru and Bidar, the two districts that are seeing a spike in positivity rates.
Speaking to the media after his interaction with the PM, Yediyurappa reiterated that there will be no lockdown or curfew and pointed out that the PM had stressed on not pushing people into panic. “The PM has appreciated Karnataka’s use of RT-PCR tests accounting for 93 per cent of total tests being conducted. We have requested the for vaccination drive to be taken up at old age homes and apartment complexes. We have also asked the Centre to consider administering vaccines to everybody, irrespective of age,” Yediyurappa said.
Aim is to vaccinate 3L people a day: CM
When asked if any additional restrictions will be implemented, the chief minister responded in the negative. “There will be no curfew or lockdown, but people have to mask up and ensure social distancing,” he said. At the beginning of the interaction, Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted the Centre-State efforts in tackling Covid-19 over the last one year. The PM, reviewing Karnataka’s Covid-19 situation, said special attention should be paid to Bidar and Bengaluru.
Modi also assures states that more vaccine centres will be set up in places reporting high number of cases. He asked the chief ministers to concentrate on ‘micro containment zones’, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and contain the pandemic from spreading to villages. “Wearing masks will be compulsory. We will regulate huge gatherings. We aim to vaccinate three lakh people daily,” the CM said. Modi also urged that 1,439 hospitals of the 2,042 registered to administer the vaccine, which haven’t begun the drive, to immediately begin the inoculation programme in Karnataka.