Checkposts to come up in border areas to prevent Omicron spread

Kalaburagi: With rising Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and Kerala, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said check-posts will be set up in places where there are village-to-village contacts between Karnataka and neighbouring States.

He also said the police station under the jurisdiction will be responsible for such check-posts.

"Our experiences since the first and second wave have been that the infections in Karnataka rise whenever COVID-19 cases spiral in our neighbouring states, with whom we have daily business activities. We have to focus on that area," Bommai told reporters. When asked about the laxity in the border regions, the Chief Minister said the border is vast and checking is happening at the main checkposts only. However, there are contacts with neighbouring states at the village level. "Today, I am going to issue a direction to hold the police stations responsible for places where there is village-to-village contact. We will set up checkposts in such villages there and deploy people," the Chief Minister said.

To a query on the possibility of a lockdown, semi-lockdown or weekend curfew, Bommai said he will have to wait for the experts' view on it. He, however, pointed out that the lockdown will have an adverse effect on the economy.

"We have to keep the economy moving along with taking care of public health. That's the thinking of our government. I seek public support to contain the spread of the disease," Bommai said.

Regarding the possibility of closure of schools and colleges in view of rising COVID cases, Bommai said he will go by what the experts say in the meeting later in the evening.

The state on Monday reported 1,290 cases and five deaths of which 1,041 infections and three fatalities were in Bengaluru itself.