- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
DAYS after two nationals from South Africa tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, upon arrival and it was said that they have been affected by the Delta variant, state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday (29) allayed people’s apprehension to say there was no proposal to impose a lockdown in the state.
“We have instructed for strict precautions at schools and colleges, but not to close them. There is no proposal to impose the lockdown,” Bommai was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
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Speaking to media persons in Davanagere in Davanagere district in central Karnataka, Bommai urged people not to panic about Omicro, the new strain of Covid, and strictly abide by Covid guidelines.
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Karnataka health minister Dr K Sudhakar said it was found that at least one of the two Africans has been affected by “a variant different from the Delta variant”.
The state government has sought clarity from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian health ministry on the variant detected in the foreign national, the Express report added.
The Karnataka government has also requested the Narendra Modi government to impose a ban on travellers from Botswana and Hong Kong besides South Africa amid the Omicron threat and new Covid-19 clusters reported from the state.
“We have requested the Centre to ban arrival of passengers from these three countries where cases attributed to the new strain have been detected,” Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru.
On Sunday (28), Karnataka reported 315 fresh cases of Covid-19 and two deaths, taking the caseload to 2,995,600 and the death toll to 38,198. Bengaluru Urban remains a major contributor of coronavirus cases in the state with 152 fresh infections and both the deaths were reported from the state capital.
