Sudhakar rules out another lockdown
Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K. Sudhakar
Bengaluru: Allaying fears of another round of lockdown in Bengaluru, Health Minister K. Sudhakar said on Saturday that there is no proposal lying before the government to re-enforce the lockdown in any part of the State.
Reacting to reports about re-enforcing lockdown in Bengaluru, the minister told reporters that Covid-19 cases have not increased in Karnataka and unlike Kerala or Maharashtra, the situation does not demand another lockdown as of now.
"Be it partial or complete lockdown, there is no such intention, nor are there any proposals lying before the State government," he said.
Sudhakar's remarks came close on the heels of Bengaluru civic body Commissioner N. Manjunatha Prasad's statement on Friday that if the citizens continued to grossly flout COVID-19 restrictions, lockdown may have to be re-enforced.
Prasad, while addressing health officials in Bengaluru in the wake of the formation of two clusters and the emergence of South African and Brazilian strains of virus in neighbouring States, had warned that the government would be forced to re-enforce lockdown if the current scale of violation of social distancing norms in Bengaluru continued.
"As of now, the Covid-19 situation has not gone out of control and so far no new strain of virus has been found except the UK strain. Even this new type of strain has not been found in alarming numbers. Therefore, the government has not thought in that direction (imposing lockdown) yet," Sudhakar said.
"People should not throw caution to the wind. They need to wear masks and maintain social distance in order to beat this virus," he said.
Sudhakar also maintained that the state ramped up its vigil, especially in the border districts and in Bengaluru to prevent a Kerala or Maharashtra-like situation.
He also stressed that the State gained substantial experience in controlling the spread of the virus, which it proved successfully by preventing any further spread of the UK strain that was initially found in some passengers who arrived here from the UK.