Ministers to be appointed as in-charge for each zone in B'luru for COVID management

Bengaluru: Amid spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday decided to appoint ministers as in-charge for each zone in the city, aimed at effectively managing the pandemic.

“The cabinet has discussed the coronavirus situation. The Chief Minister has decided to appoint a minister as in-charge for each zone in Bengaluru, the details about it will be shared later,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said.

Speaking to reporters here after the cabinet meeting, he said ministers from Bengaluru city and Chief Minister”s political secretary S R Vishwanath will be appointed for each zone.

There are eight administrative zones in Bengaluru under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city civic body.

As of Wednesday evening Karnataka has reported cumulatively 28,877 cases of COVID-19, out of which 12,509 infections are from Bengaluru urban.

A whopping 1,148 out of 2,062 fresh cases reported in the state on Wednesday were from the capital city.

The cabinet also discussed the increase in the number of cases and the measures to be taken to control its spread, Madhuswamy said.

It was decided to increase beds at taluk and district level COVID hospitals, high flow oxygen devices and the number of tests and give the results as quickly as possible, he said.

There was no discussion regarding any lockdown, he clarified in response to a question.