Karnataka Has Issued A Warning To Medical Practitioners About Spreading Fake Covid Information
Update: 2022-01-19 11:20 IST
A health worker collects swab sample for Covid-19 test at KSR Railway Station in Bengaluru
The Karnataka government issued a strong warning to all medical practitioners on Tuesday, warning them not to propagate any misconceptions about Covid-19 to the general people.
The state government stated in a statement that it has brought to the consent of the government that a few medical practitioners are providing incomplete, misleading, and unsupported information on Covid 19 whilst engaging with the public on different media channels. Such material causes public misunderstanding about the state's current Covid situation and encourages people to depart from well-established standards given by health and revenue authorities. Medical practitioners who are experts in both clinical and public health should use extreme caution and attention while speaking with the public about Covid 19.
The government also stated that any "misleading information or non-factual facts" about Covid 19 discussed on such platforms would be considered a crime, and that the Disaster Management and Epidemics Act would be used to take appropriate action.
Though the state administration led by Basavaraj Bommai has attempted to impose stringent standards for the general population, it has scarcely cracked down on the political elite who continue to violate Covid procedures or make remarks that contradict them.
A lot of criticisms were received after senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and cabinet minister Umesh Katti said that wearing a mask is a personal choice. People begun to question why the authorities never took steps against politicians holding events, such as the recent foot march by the Congress for Mekedatu and an MLA commemorating his birthday among others.
To limit people's movement and combat the transmission of the virus, the government has imposed night and weekend curfews, and several other strict limitations.
The state government issued another statement on Tuesday, instructing district administrations to carefully undertake containment measures. It further said that officials who fail to take action against those who violate containment measures will face consequences.
Furthermore, the state's chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, convened a meeting on Tuesday to assess the immunisation drive's progress. The CM asked the DCs to improve the vaccination in all the districts and provide maximum coverage of the first and second doses to the state average by the end of the month.