No relaxation in new COVID-19 guidelines: Karnataka Health Minister Sudhakar
Bengaluru: Hinting at no relaxation in the new set of guidelines issued by the state government, amid pressure from various sectors, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Saturday said it was inevitable to take certain strict measures so that things don't go out of control.
He said the guidelines have been issued on the advice of the technical advisory committee consisting of experts, after examining the situation, and if things are under control by April 20, activities will be allowed to resume.
"The government is not happy by restricting activities.
I have been requesting through the media for the last one month that a second wave is at our doorstep and if we don't understand and take precautionary measures, the government will have no other options and may have to take serious measures," Sudhakar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said Karnataka was the first state to resume all the business activities, but the state is today reporting about 5,000 cases per day and 3,500 of them are from Bengaluru alone.
"The technical advisory committee has said this will be there for another two months, till the May end and the graph will start declining from June first week.
If we don't take measures and something untoward happens, won't it be the government's responsibility?" he asked.
Aimed at curbing Covid-19 with the spike in cases, the government on Friday in a new set of guidelines had ordered the closure of gyms and swimming pools while capping the seating capacity in theatres at 50 per cent in certain districts.
It has also ordered apartment complexes to shut common facilities such as party halls and clubhouses. The new restrictions imposed by the government through the guidelines will be in force till April 20.
Noting that the government has issued guidelines after getting several reports from the technical advisory committee, and after consulting senior officials and ministers, Sudhakar said it was not done at one go.
"People from several sectors are saying their activities should not be restricted and should go on freely. Yes, we (govt) too understand, but things should not go out of our control, so it was inevitable for the government to take certain strict measures.
We request for cooperation from everyone," he said.
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has decided to meet Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to bring to his notice about the impact of capping the seating capacity in theatres at 50 per cent, on the industry, and is likely to seek relaxation so that it doesn't impact films that have just been released.
Also, gym owners have demanded the government to reconsider the decision or allow them to operate with 50 per cent capacity or announce a package so that they can make payment for staff and use it for maintenance.
There is pressure from some private schools to allow them to function, similar is the demand from gym, swimming pool and club owners, also people want to hold marriages with large gatherings, the Minister said.
"These measures are not permanent, let's follow these temporary measures for some days... I'm not saying it (Covid- 19 spread) can be controlled 100 percent by these measures, but we can try to bring things under control," he said.
Responding to a question, the Minister said there are guidelines for elections, and religious places too, there is no concession for any sector or activities.
"The government is only trying to control this pandemic that's all, there is no politics or any malicious intent behind this," he said, as he evaded questions on night curfew or weekend lockdown stating that he doesn't want to speak on what measures will be taken in the future.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
