Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said lockdown is not a solution to containing Covid and there is no such proposal to extend it in Bengaluru.

Addressing ministers in-charge of eight zones of BBMP regarding Covid management, the Chief Minister dismissed the suggestion of BBMP Mayor M Goutham Kumar requesting lockdown extension.

Bengaluru City which has emerged as a hotspot has been clocking over 1,000-1.500 cases daily for the last 10 days.

Yediyurappa told the ministers that the purpose of this limited lockdown in Bengaluru is being met. The city is catching up with whatever backlogs were there in-terms of cases, tracing contacts and creating medical infrastructure.

The Chief Minister also directed officials and ministers to remove all obstacles in admission of infected to hospitals. “We should ensure availability of treatment to Covid and non-Covid patients in private hospitals according to government guidelines.”

Nodal officers and volunteers would be deputed to private hospitals to ensure smooth coordination and to provide information about admissions and bed availability.

Chief Minister instructed officials to decentralise bed allocation system to zonal level and closely monitor and ensure bed allocation and arrival of ambulance to the doorstep of the infected within two hours of being tested positive.

On Friday, the state reported 3,693 new positive cases, taking the total number of cases to 55,115 and of which 33,205 were active cases. A total of 115 deaths were reported taking the total death toll to 1,147.

On the discharge front, the day saw 1,028 cases, now total discharges stood at 20,757. Patients in ICU are 568.

Bengaluru still continues to worry the state government and reported 2,208 cases and 75 deaths on Friday.

The total positive cases in the city stood at 27,496 and active cases were 20,623. On the discharge front, the city reported 338 cases and so far 6,290 people have been discharged.

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