BENGALURU
Lifting all restrictions at once may trigger a surge in cases. So the restrictions will be eased in a staggered manner and the Chief Minister will take a final decision on the modalities of unlocking, informed Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K.Sudhakar.
He said, “some activities will be opened while there will be restrictions on others. The advice of experts will be conveyed to the CM and he will take a final decision after discussion with senior Ministers. As per experts’ opinion, if the positivity rate is less than 5% and the cases are less than 5,000, restrictions can be lifted.”
“Other states like Maharashtra have opened only after a reduction in cases. If you compare with other states, the third wave has relatively subdued quickly in our state. Although, it has been predicted that the next wave might impact children predominantly, there is no such evidence from other countries which have already undergone the third wave. Even AIIMS Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria had said that there is no data, either from India or internationally, to show that children will be seriously infected in any next wave of Covid-19. 60-70% children, who got infected and admitted to hospitals during the second wave in India, had either co-morbidities or low immunity. Healthy children recovered with mild illness without any need for hospitalisation. But we are ensuring preparedness to protect our children,” said Dr Sudhakar. There are 2,281 cases of black fungus and 1,948 are getting treatment. 102 people have already recovered.
Regarding the KIMS issue, the Minister said, “ I had expressed my dissatisfaction about the functioning of KIMS when I had visited Hubballi last week. I had ordered for an enquiry and have been told that the report is ready. So, mI will look into the matter and initiate legal action. There is no question of protecting anybody.”
“We are planning to install geofencing technology to ensure that doctors don’t skip duty hours. I have also instructed all hospitals to install CCTV camera in all wards and ICU,” he added.