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Lockdown in Bengaluru will not be extended after July 22, said Medical Education and Covid-19 in-charge Minister K Sudhakar.
“However, a decision will be taken on Tuesday and an order will be issued. Today no discussions came up before the zonal-incharge ministers meeting, K Sudhakar told reporters.
Talking about fear of community transmission in Karnataka, the minister said “I cannot say there is community transmission in Karnataka. The cases are increasing in containment zones. But we cannot say that there is community transmission.”
On Monday, Karnataka reported 3,648 positive Covid-19 cases. Of these as many as 1,452 cases were in Bengaluru
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayana had said no plan of extending the Bengaluru lockdown. “I don’t think so, there won’t be any lockdown. The Chief Minister will give further clarification. There will not be any extension of lockdown, only unlocking, no locking.”
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday convened a meeting of zonal-incharge ministers to review and discuss tracing, tracking and testing done in Bengaluru urban and rural districts. This comes after the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru Rural & Urban which is set to end July 22 morning.
No Corruption
The both ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and principal Opposition Congress continued to spar over alleged irregularities in Covid related procurements.
Health Minister Sriramulu and Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayana in a joint press meet said there was no illegality in the purchase of Covid medical equipment. “The allegations made by the Congress leaders are false and are out to create confusion among people and victimise officers.”
Congress has been alleging irregularities of over ₹2,200 crore in the purchase of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, ventilators, and other medical supplies.
For the last one week, Congress led by Opposition leader Siddaramaiah launched the #LekkaKodi campaign and has been demanding the state government to give a detailed account of the money spent during the Covid pandemic.
“Opposition leaders have alleged that the purchase of a ventilator was illegal. If there were any misconduct during my tenure, I would immediately resign,” said Sriramulu.
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