JOIN USCOVID-19: Public spots within BBMP limits to be disinfected
All hospitals and public places within the BBMP limits will be disinfected. Around 10,000 workers will be put on the job, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Thursday.
House surgeons from 17 medical colleges and 53 private medical colleges in the state will also be roped in for the rest of the month, he said. “Their services won’t go in vain. This one month will be counted as part of their service and as part of the course they are doing,” he added.
List of restrictions
The minister urged people to avoid ceremonies involving tonsuring and baby showers.
“These ceremonies are to be prohibited. If inevitable, please restrict the guest list to 100 or a maximum of 150 people,” Sudhakar said.
He also mentioned that a few pubs in Bengaluru are not complying with the closure orders. Legal action will be initiated against such establishments, he said.
Any purchase of medical supplies for the COIVD-19 crisis and tenders will be approved by an eight-member high-level technical committee.
The committee comprises of heads of public health institutes like Dr C Nagaraj, director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases; Dr C N Manjunath, director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences; Dr V Ravi, HOD, Virology, Nimahns; and Dr H Sudarshan, public health expert, among others.
Also, Ola and Uber cab companies will be instructed to follow high levels of hygiene, Sudhakar said.
Pvt testing institutions
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; Manipal Institute of Virology, Udupi, and biotech company Biocon will be roped in for testing COVID-19 samples after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approves the same, Sudhakar said.
“Samples of category A (symptomatic passengers) and category B (asymptomatic passengers), along with samples of random people to check community transmission, will be sent to these private institutions,” the minister added.
The Kalaburagi testing lab that was supposed to be operational on Wednesday has so far been a non-starter because the state is awaiting lab reagents from ICMR, the minister clarified.
The state forest minister’s daughter has been quarantined after coming back from an overseas trip, he clarified. “She is not in contact with her parents, the minister and his wife, and is under strict isolation,” Sudhakar said.