Reining in COVID-19 cases is BBMP’s priority, says new civic chief

Tackling the steep spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru and preparing for the monsoon are the top priorities for the new guard at the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.

Senior IAS officers Gaurav Gupta and Rakesh Singh took charge as the BBMP Commissioner and Administrator, on Thursday. Soon after being handed the silver baton to signify the change of guard, Mr. Gupta told reporters that his appointment comes with more responsibilities.

“The commissioner is the executive head of the BBMP. He or she has an important role to play in utilising all available resources to solve issues of the city,” he said.

The increase in positive cases will have to be reined in, Mr. Gupta said and appealed to people not to let their guard down. “While we have put in place measures to contain the spread, citizens must cooperate and avoid crowded places,” he said.

Responding to a question on Bengaluru Karaga, he said the government has imposed restrictions on social and cultural gatherings, protests, etc. “We will take a call on how it can be celebrated,” he said.

Mr. Gupta said during his seven-month tenure as administrator, he has seen closely the issues plaguing the city and even issued directions to officials concerned on solving several of them.

Mr. Singh, after taking charge, said the focus will be on two issues – the spike in COVID-19 positive cases and preparing for the upcoming monsoon months.

Mr. Prasad attributed the rise in cases to the second wave in neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra and increase in weddings, protests and various socio-cultural events/ programmes. Cases increased from an average 243 in February to almost 1,500 in March.

“The earlier strategy of ‘test-track-treat’ will continue, as per the government’s directions. From an average daily testing of 20,000 in February, the daily average now is around 60,000 a day. The way to break the chain is to increase testing to detect positive cases, isolate them and intensify contact tracing,” said Mr. Prasad.

An analysis of positive cases over the past month had shown that infection was more among citizens aged between 20 years and 40 years, while death rate was high among those aged between 60 years and 80 years.

“Despite an increase in positive cases, the mortality rate is not as bad as it was last year. In the light of the spike, there will be a graded increase in bed allocation for COVID-19 patients in private health facilities, starting with 10% this week,” he added.