Covid-19 variant JN.1: Karnataka govt to form cabinet sub-committee

The Karnataka government on Thursday decided to constitute a cabinet subcommittee for proper coordination with experts to take necessary decisions aimed at containing the spread of Covid19 including precautions to be taken and treatment providedKarnataka has recorded three Covid19 deaths in the past one weekAfter chairing a meeting with Ministers officials and experts Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appealed to people not to panic but to be cautious and take precautionary measures like wearing face masksA cabinet subcommittee will be constituted Who will head it and who will be its members will be decided at the cabinet meeting The cabinet subcommittee will meet frequently and will also meet the Technical Advisory Committee TAC consisting of experts There must be proper coordination between the cabinet subcommittee and the TAC Siddaramaiah told reportersWhatever is the advice given by the TAC should be implemented in toto he saidThe meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar Home Minister G Parameshwara Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil top government officials and TAC membersSiddaramaiah and Shivakumar were seen masked up at the meetingThe Chief Minister noted that Covid cases are increasing and recently three people who tested positive for Covid have died in KarnatakaIt cannot be said that they died only due to Covid because they had other comorbidities or associated diseases like issues related to kidney heart lungs blood pressure diabetes along with Covid19 infection Siddaramaiah saidIn todays meeting the inputs from the TAC were taken he saidThe Chief Minister instructed officials to ensure that the mistakes of the past like shortage of oxygen beds ventilators and medicines are not repeated Along with providing treatment to Covid patients those with comorbidities should also get medical careI have suggested that if required a vaccination drive should be started for those who have not taken vaccination as it is an important preventive measure he addedUrging people not to panic or worry but to remain cautious and follow the precautionary measures Siddaramaiah noted that the new JN1 sub variant is a sub variant of Omicron variant which was prevalent in the pastHe said there are at present 92 Covid positive cases in the State including 80 from Bengaluru Urban district Out of 92 cases 72 are under home isolation while 20 are hospitalised Out of these 20 hospitalised 7 are in ICU not only because of Covid they have other comorbidities tooIt has been decided to do 5000 Covid tests 1500 Rapid Antigen Test and 3500 RTPCR tests every day the Chief Minister said About 1000 of them will be done in BengaluruSuggesting people to wear masks at crowded places he said those above 60years should compulsorily wear masks as also persons who come in contact with large number of people It is only an advisory such a situation has not come to make it mandatorySiddaramaiah suggested that dedicated wards be set up at private and government hospitals with all the required facilities for treatment of Covid patientsInstructions have been given to health department officials to make arrangements for required oxygen ventilators and beds among other essential requirements he said Siddaramaiah also asked authorities to have the required amount of vaccination stocks ready instead of waiting for the Government of India to provide themAsked about any guidelines for New Year celebrations the CM said there is no advisory only that people need to wear masks as a large number of people gather for celebrationsHe said with increase in testing there may be an spike in Covid cases being reportedOn fixing the cost of testing and treatment at private hospitals Siddaramaiah said the cabinet subcommittee will decide on it as and when the situation arisesThe cabinet subcommittee will also look into purchasing necessary requirements for combating the disease and ensure that there is no shortage Necessary funds will be given and there will be no shortage of funds he said adding that the cabinet subcommittee will decide in the coming days on whether the vaccination will be done free of costOn private schools reportedly making masks compulsory for students the CM said Its good The government the cabinet subcommittee too will decide in this regard in the days to come after consulting the TACThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever