BENGALURU : The much-feared second wave of Covid-19 has finally begun in Karnataka, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar declared on Sunday. He also stressed that people need to avoid gatherings, ceremonies, functions, parties and any sort of crowding for the next one or two months in order to prevent any sharp rise in Covid-19 cases.
A late-evening emergency meeting with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, attended by Health Minister Sudhakar, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar, however, took no decision on lockdowns, night curfews or stopping of offline classes in schools and colleges, or any other restrictions.
It was agreed to review the situation after a week when a call will be taken on stricter measures that may be implemented. With the total Covid-19 tally at 9,70,202 cases, the state has lately been seeing a steady increase in the number of active cases (patients currently positive and under treatment) from 8,860 on March 15 to 13,493 cases on Sunday. The recovery rate too has been steadily sliding from 97.78 per cent on March 15 to 97.32 per cent on Sunday.
Bengaluru, which is driving the Covid-19 spike in the state, has been witnessing 1,000-plus additions in new cases on consecutive days with the city tally rising from 4,11,989 on March 15 to 4,17,672 on Sunday. During the same period, the recovery rate has dipped from 97.33 per cent to 96.68 per cent.
Without curbs, tough to control pandemic: Panel
Minister Sudhakar, while speaking to TNIE, on Friday, had warned that the government may be forced to implement night curfew if daily addition in cases rise and had expressed concern that it will be impossible to control the pandemic without imposing curbs. “There is a fast-changing trend of Covid cases rising in Bengaluru and in some pockets of Karnataka,” he had said. On Sunday, he said he will request Chief Minister Yediyurappa to convene an all-party meeting to discuss containment measures.
“The bypolls are coming up, but corona will not spare political parties. People should know how to protect themselves. The government can only vaccinate people and offer treatment for Covid,” Sudhakar said. The Technical Advisory Committee has stated that without curbs on activities, it will be difficult to control the pandemic.
At a meeting earlier in the day between Home Minister Bommai, Sudhakar and CM Yediyurappa, it was decided that districts bordering other states with rising Covid cases have to keep stricter checks on people entering the state and ensure they have the negative RT-PCR reports.
At least eight border districts have been ordered to conduct on-the-spot tests if those entering do not have Covid-negative reports with them. “Regarding reopening of schools and colleges, the Health Department will advise the CM,” Sudhakar added.