Health Minister K Sudhakar voices concern over rise in COVID-19 case in Maharashtra

Bengaluru: Pointing to the steep rise in coronavirus cases in neighbouring Maharashtra, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Thursday appealed to the people to follow strictly COVID-19 protocol such as wearing face masks and social distancing.

In a series of tweets, he also urged people above 60 years of age and those with comorbidities to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible.

"More than 13,000 coronavirus cases have been found in the last 24 hours in neighbouring Maharashtra which bothers me," Sudhakar tweeted.

The Minister's comments came even as Karnataka itself has seen a sharp rise in the number of active cases in the last ten days.

The active cases which stood at 5,824 on March 1 has touched 7,456 on March 10.

Appealing to the people to stay away from the crowd, the Minister emphasised on wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing at all the public functions and festivals considering it as a warning bell.

He also appealed to the relatives, friends and neighbours of those eligible for vaccines to encourage them to get the shot. The Minister also flagged concern over some private schools reopening for students of Class 1 to 6 without government approval.

He asked the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar to take strict legal action including cancelling licences of such schools.