Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday dropped big hint at issuing fresh set of COVID guidelines as the COVID cases are on the rise in certain areas of the state. It was reported that the state government may also impose fresh restrictions if the cases continue to rise. However, the chief minister said decision regarding the guidelines and restrictions will be taken in a state cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Giving further details, the chief minister said he will collect details about COVID situation in November from officials, which would be presented before the cabinet tomorrow.
He added that whatever is happening with regard to the Omicron variant and the developments taking place in COVID clusters will be placed before the cabinet and accordingly a decision will be taken on issuing a fresh set of guidelines. Bommai said COVID cases are seen in only a few districts whereas it is in control in other places.
Talking about fresh COVID guidelines, the chief minister said that if he has to bring any new guidelines, it should be for the entire state. He stated that controlling COVID cases in December and January and the need for fresh guidelines will be discussed elaborately in the cabinet meeting on Thursday.
However, the chief minister urged people of the state not to panic though cases were emerging in the schools and hostels. He also urged the parents and teachers to take double dose of COVID vaccine if they had not done it yet.
On Tuesday, the chief minister had said that the state government was taking measures to set up more genomic sequencing labs in the state. The state government said during the second wave of COVID, it had set up six genome sequencing labs at Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Hubballi, Mangaluru and Vijayapura.
The development comes as two cases of Omicron variant were detected in the state last week, one was a South African national who has left the country after testing negative, while the other was a local person, a doctor with no travel history.
Corona cases: On Tuesday, Karnataka reported 299 fresh COVID-19 cases and six deaths, taking the total number of infections to 29,98,699 and the toll to 38,243. The day also saw 260 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,53,327, a health department bulletin said.
Out of six deaths on Tuesday, three were from Bengaluru Urban and one each from Dakshina Kannada, Dharwad and Mysuru. Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 215, Dakshina Kannada 14, Kodagu 12, Mysuru 11, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,57,875, followed by Mysuru 1,79,948 and Tumakuru 1,21,165.
(With inputs from agencies)