advertisement
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa held a meeting on Friday over the rising COVID-19 cases in the state and a decision has been taken to prohibit any public gatherings across the state.
Indoor functions will have only 100 attendees, and outdoor functions will have 200 attendees only, the Karnataka government has decided.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Gaurav Gupta were also present at the meeting that began at 9:30 am on Friday.
Health Minister Sudhakar also said that ten hotels in Bengaluru will be converted into makeshift hospitals and patients with mild or moderate symptoms will be moved there.
Corporate sector hospitals can coordinate with nearby hotels to make temporary hospitals to treat patients with mild or no symptoms.
“Only people with severe symptoms should go to hospitals,” Sudhakar said.
The government has also directed the appointment of IAS, IPS, BWSSB, Bescom, SAST officers as nodal officials for private officials to ensure needy patients get immediate treatment.
Measures will be taken to increase the speed of COVID-19 testing so that test results are available within 24 hours without fail.
The containment zone and micro containment zone will be implemented strictly. Measures will be taken to prevent people from gathering in groups unnecessarily.
Addressing the media on Friday after the meeting, the Karnataka Chief Minister said that the measures that are currently in place, like night curfew, will continue till 20 April.
Health Minister Sudhakar also told the media that each ward in Bengaluru will have ambulances and 49 ambulances will be stationed for those who have died due to COVID-19.
Friday’s meeting comes two days ahead of the all-party meeting, scheduled to be held on April 18, to discuss Karnataka’s plan of action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The technical advisory committee (TAC), which advises the state government on COVID-19 measures, had recommended a ban on the assembly of people in public places and had asked the government to impose Section 144 of the CrPC.
Karnataka has been seeing a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases. Karnataka reported its highest single-day spike of 14,738 fresh coronavirus cases and 66 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 11.09 lakh and the toll to 13,112, the Health Department said on Thursday.
Out of the 14,738 fresh cases reported on Thursday, 10,497 cases were from Bengaluru Urban alone. The day also saw 3,591 patients getting discharged after recovery.
The centers will come up in hotels, hostels, private hospitals, colleges, and wedding halls, and will be made operational in three days, he added.
(This story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished here with permission.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: undefined