Prepare for any Covid situation: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to officials

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the rising Covid cases in the state were not a cause for panic even as he impressed upon officials the need to ensure all necessary infrastructure was in place to handle any situation that may arise.

This comes after Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, reported an uptick in Covid cases over the past week.

Speaking after a review meeting with ministers and officials from the Health and Medical Education Departments at his Kaveri residence, Siddaramaiah instructed officials to take steps to start screening units at airports in the state should the need arise in the coming days. He also suggested setting up a Covid helpline for the public.

State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said 5,000 RTPCR test kits have been procured and distributed to hospitals across the state. People with breathing trouble and heart disease are being mandatorily tested in VRDL testing labs. Remdesivir injections will also be procured as a precaution, he added.

The CM also advised parents not to send children presenting flu symptoms like cold, cough and fever to school. Schools and colleges must also keep an eye on such students and send them home, he said.

A circular in this regard would be rolled out shortly, said Rao.

Siddaramaiah directed officials to keep oxygen, medicines, beds and ventilators ready and instructed elderly, pregnant women, people with comorbidities like heart and lung problems to wear masks as a precaution.

He noted that district hospitals need to be equipped to handle cases.

“The situation should be reviewed every week or every three days, if necessary, and closely monitored. If any health issues arise in pregnant women, they should not be transferred from one hospital to another and, instead, necessary arrangements should be made in all hospitals,” he said, emphasising that maternal and child health has to be closely monitored.

The minister said that while a few cases of Covid infection have been around in the state, it increased in May, with 62 cases being reported in the fourth week alone.

“There is only one serious case,” said Siddaramaiah. The state is following the Centre’s guidelines, he said, instructing officials to keep vaccines ready. “Inspection of SARI cases is underway,” he said.

There are a total of 1,010 active cases of Covid in the country as of May 26, according to information from the Union Health Ministry. Of these, 753 were added since May 19.

Kerala has seen the highest jump in the number of cases at 335, followed by Maharashtra’s 154, Delhi’s 99, and Gujarat’s 76 cases.