With a large number of COVID-19 positive cases being reported from eight districts - Belagavi, Chikkkmagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya, Shivamogga and Tumakuru – Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has instructed the district in-charge Ministers and Deputy Commissioners to continue the lockdown restrictions strictly, barring a few essential services.
Mr. Yediyurappa held a video conference with the Deputy Commissioners of eight districts with high COVID-19 cases on Thursday and said these districts reported 65,000 active cases and rate of decline in the number of cases was less. He instructed the officers to bring down the positivity rate to less than five per cent to ease restrictions.
The total number of active cases in the State as on June 9 stood at 2,15,525.
On an average Chikkamagaluru district reported 25.17 % positivity rate in the first week of June, while Mysuru recorded 22%.
The Chief Minister directed Deputy Commissioners to intensify the vaccination drive in their districts, especially in Belagavi, to contain the spread of the pandemic. The intensity of the cases has come down due to the stringent measures adopted by the government during lockdown. “But positive cases are not decreasing in eight districts as expected”, Mr. Yediyurappa said and expressed his anxiety over the increase in cases in rural areas.
The district administration has been told to ensure compliance in the implementation of preventive measures, including creation of micro-containment zones, for containment of the pandemic. He directed Deputy Commissioners to take steps to bring down the positivity rate to less than five per cent.
As per the guidelines of the government, 70% of tests should be RT-PCR and 30% rapid antigen, the Chief Minister informed Deputy Commissioners. RT-PCR reports must be given within 24 hours of the test and swift segregation must be done based on the condition of the patients, he added.
