COVID-19 cases: Ministers to meet BSY on Monday

In the light of COVID-19 cases crossing the 3,000 mark in the State, a few senior Ministers will meet Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday to seek stricter implementation of restrictions or imposing additional restrictions to prevent the rapid spread, especially in Bengaluru.

Ahead of the meeting on Monday, Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar met Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai. “The mutated virus is spreading fast. While it was around 300 cases daily four weeks ago, it has now reached 3,000 daily. This is a 10-time increase. I feel the current restrictions are not enough,” Dr. Sudhakar told presspersons here on Sunday.

He said that if stricter measures were not in place, hospitals would be under stress with increased load if cases rose. “With the increasing number of cases, the number of deaths will also proportionally increase. It will be difficult then,” he warned.

The next six to eight weeks, Dr. Sudhakar said, was very crucial in the spread of the virus, and that the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) had also felt the same. “The Chief Minister’s attention will be drawn to the suggestions given by the TAC and other related issues.”

“There has to be stricter vigil in border areas for the movement of people. Stricter vigil has to be there for those coming to Bengaluru. The Home Minister also concurred with my views,” he said, adding that they would apprise the Chief Minister about the current situation and possible steps to be initiated.

Besides Dr. Sudhakar, Mr. Bommai, Revenue Minister R. Ashok, and Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar are expected to meet the Chief Minister.

Providing details of the meeting with the Home Minister, Dr. Sudhakar said: “In the nearly two-hour- long meeting, we discussed the further action to be taken by the Home department and how it has to be implemented.”

He said that the daily reported cases in Maharashtra had increased between 36,000 and 38,000 cases.

Asked if there was any proposal to seal the State border, the Minister said that there were strict guidelines from the Centre not to seal the borders. “We will have to ensure that those travelling carry RT-PCR test negative report.