Karnataka Government reconstitutes COVID-19 Task Force amid rise in the number of cases

Amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday reconstituted the COVID-19 Task Force and appointed Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwatha Narayana as the chairperson of the same, an official statement released by the state government said.

As per the statement, the Task Force aims to examine the measures taken to contain the surge of the pandemic and create awareness among the public with regard to COVID-19 management.

Earlier the Task Force was headed by Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for public works, Govinda Karajola, it said.

It further mentioned that Suresh Kumar S, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education; CC Patil, Minister of Information and Public Relations, and K Sudhakar, Minister of Health and Welfare and Medical Education are the members of the task force.

The Chief Secretary to the government, Additional Chief Secretary (Department of Health & Family Welfare), The Principal Secretary (Department of Medical Education) will assist in providing the relevant information to the task force, the statement said.

According to the Union Health Ministry, Karnataka is among the ten states that reported 73.78 per cent of the new COVID-19 cases in the country. With 37,733 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, the state reported the second-highest number of new COVID cases in the country, the ministry said.

As per the ministry, Karnataka is among the twelve states that account for 81.46 per cent of India's total active cases. The state presently has 4,21,456 active cases, said the ministry.

Karnataka is among the ten states that account for 74.54 per cent of new deaths in the country. As per government data, the state recorded 217 deaths in the last 24 hours.