An all-party meeting would be held in Bengaluru on April 18 to take steps to contain the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Karnataka, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Tuesday. The meeting has been called to come up with more measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Chief Minister told reporters in Bidar. Former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy, Congress state unit president DK Shivakumar and leaders of other political parties will be invited to participate in the meeting and give their suggestions to tackle the pandemic.
Ruling out another lockdown to contain the pandemic, the Chief Minister said the state's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of health experts had not recommended a lockdown yet.
Upon his return to Bengaluru on Tuesday evening, the CM held a meeting with concerned officials at his residential office and reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the state. "Measures have been taken to ensure sufficient beds, medicines, oxygen and ventilators in all state-run and private hospitals across the state to treat COVID-19 patients," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement later.
The Chief Minister has directed the healthcare workers and frontline warriors to intensify testing, tracing and treating positive cases besides focusing on micro-containment zones to contain the spread of the virus. The state Health Department has been told to ensure a sufficient supply of vaccines in all the 31 districts across the state to inoculate more eligible citizens. Meanwhile, the civic Marshalls and the police have been told to fine violators of COVID-19 norms and detain those defying the night curfew in the eight cities, the CMO’s statement read.
State Chief Secretary P Ravikumar, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant and top officials of the state's Revenue, Health and Home departments attended the meeting on Tuesday.
(With IANS inputs)