From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Mar 27: Health and family welfare minister Dr K Sudhakar has raised alarming concerns over the beginning of the Covid pandemic’s second wave in Karnataka and urged people to strictly follow the safety guidelines.
Speaking to media in Bengaluru on Saturday, Dr Sudhakar, who is also the state’s medical education minister, said Covid cases are increasing in all states and it is an indication of the beginning of the second wave.
"People should exercise caution and strictly abide by the Covid safety guidelines,’’ he said.
He said 8 to 10 states have more active cases, which is quite worrying and a serious concern.
"There are about 2.84 lac cases in Maharashtra, 24,000 in Kerala, 22,000 in Punjab and 19,000 in Karnataka. It is clear that the second wave has begun. So if we don't curb activities the danger is imminent,’’ he said.
People should compulsorily wear a mask and follow social distancing norms, he said.
"Our state's positivity rate of 1.6% is more than the national average. It is not a good sign. We should take this seriously. More than 1 lac tests are being conducted every day,’’ he said.
As far as vaccination coverage among HCWs and FLWs, Bidar has achieved 113%, Dharwad 107% and Gadag has achieved 103%. Bengaluru Urban, Bagalkot, Davangere and Koppal have achieved 61%, 64%, 65% and 65% respectively.
The minister said 2,22,377 frontline warriors have been vaccinated so far with the first dose and 3,34,110 healthcare workers have been given the second dose.
As many as 16,18,150 senior citizens aged above 60 years have been vaccinated. In Karnataka and 4,70,602 people aged above 45 years with comorbidities have been vaccinated.
As far as coverage among 60+ is considered, Chitradurga 37%, Ramnagar 37.8%, Kodagu 38%, Chamarajnagar 38% and Koppal 48% have been covered. In the next two to three days, the state will receive another 12 lac more doses.
"Covid containment restrictions are already in place. We will take more stringent actions in the coming days. I have requested the chief minister to take necessary measures to prevent the spread of infection in schools and educational institutions and he will make a decision in this regard,’’ he added.
Siddu’s allegations 'false and baseless'
The allegations made by Congress leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Twitter regarding statistics about Covid-19 deaths 'are completely false and baseless,' Dr Sudhakar said.
The state government has no intention to hide any statistics nor is it necessary. It is also not possible to hide or fudge any data. All the facts and figures about testing, new cases reported, recovered and deaths are collected from respective districts and then compiled in the daily bulletin which is published by the health and family welfare department every day, he explained.
Siddaramaiah is the Opposition leader in the Assembly and he is free to get the information from districts and verify the same. As far as the data of planning and statistics department is concerned, the chief registrar of births and deaths has issued a clarification which states that "These figures of Covid deaths are provisional entries in eJanMa software which are subject to reconciliation as per the guidelines issued by Registrar General of India (RGI). The verification process is near completion and the final figures will be released with the approval of RGI," said Dr Sudhakar.
Therefore, people in responsible positions should refrain from making unverified, false and baseless allegations for political gains. This is also an insult to our Corona Warriors who are working tirelessly for last year, the minister added.