Continue Covid-19 lockdown in Karnataka, says technical panel

The Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has recommended that the lockdown be continued in Karnataka, post-June 7.

TAC considered the May 30 data when the state reported 20,378 new cases, of which Bengaluru Urban had 4,734 cases, and active cases were around 3.42 lakh.

Bengaluru Urban had 1,62,625 active cases. The state test positivity rate (TPR) was 15%, and the case fatality rate (CFR) was 1.87%.

“The current lockdown is till June 7. The general advisory from the Government of India recommends the continuation of restrictions till the end of June 2021 on the condition, in the districts having a TPR of more than 10% and oxygenated bed occupancy of more than 60%,” the TAC report said.

“In this context, TAC recommends further continuation of lockdown in a stricter form in the state as a whole “placing lives before livelihoods” to achieve – TPR less than 5%, daily new cases less than 5,000 and CFR less than 1%.

Read more: Karnataka Deputy CM hints at phased unlock after June 7

This shall be reviewed on a weekly basis for any relaxations and concessions. Whenever unlocking is considered, the approach used in 2020 from June-November shall be used as a basis for a graded and phase-wise relaxation of imposed restrictions that shall be carefully allowed,” the report added.

Exams for classes 10, 12

The conduct of board examinations for Class 10 and Class 12 in the current scenario of Covid-19 in the state is very challenging and if the examinations are to be conducted, it is strongly recommended to provide “a special SOP” for this purpose and the teachers shall be well trained and necessary facilities are arranged, the report said.

A special vaccination drive may be planned to provide at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to all those engaged in examination work or engage those who are already vaccinated.

“The Technical Advisory Committee has submitted its report and the CM will decide on modalities of easing restrictions gradually. Experts have advised that restrictions can be eased if the positivity rate is less than 5% and the number of cases reduces to 5,000. However, the positivity rate is still high in many districts. So we need to exercise caution,” Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.