Health Minister b. Sriramulu said, “If Kovid’s scenario remains the same in the coming days, we may have to consider the lockout after consulting the experts and taking the Chief Minister into confidence.”
Concerned with the increasing cases in the city, the minister has appealed to the people to cooperate in controlling the virus while following all safety precautions.
On Monday, Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had directed officials that they are exacerbating the infections.
The city’s civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palik (BBMP), has closed KR Market and Kalasipalya Market for 15 days.
Meanwhile, Sriramulu said that asymptomatic cases which are still being admitted to dedicated Kovid hospitals will be treated in community halls, schools, marriage halls, hotels and Haj Bhawan.
All those facilities have been converted into Covid Care Centers (CCCs) where asymptomatic cases are treated.
“As asymptomatic patients go to the CCC, more beds will be freed in dedicated Kovid hospitals, where symptomatic and serious cases can be treated,” Sriramulu said.
However, he assured that doctors and nurses would be available round the clock for CCCs to take care of patients.
Sriramulu said that more senior citizens would be tested in the coming days, including increasing testing capacity.
“The government plans to conduct 2,000-3,000 tests with two testing laboratories in every district,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to carry out a 20-day national lockout.
Kumaraswamy said, “Today India is one of the countries with the highest number of Kovid cases and this problem should be seen with higher density of our population than other countries.”
He said that selective sealing is not serving the purpose of arresting the epidemic and promotes that the economy should not have precedence over people’s lives.
“I urge the Chief Minister of Karnataka to immediately declare the lockdown for 20 days, especially for Bengaluru. I ask them to at least through direct benefit transfer to all daily wage workers including cabs and auto drivers and weavers I also urge to pay compensation of Rs 5,000. ” Kumaraswamy said.
Opposing the voices calling for the lockdown, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi has defended Yeddyurappa’s decision not to extend the lockdown as it would further weaken the state’s economy.
Savadi said that lockout is not the only way to control the epidemic in the southern state.
Bengaluru Urban has seen a total of 1,505 Kovid cases, of which 996 are currently active and 73 have died due to the virus in this technological city.
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