No lockdown, don't heed rumours, says Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai

Reassuring the people that there is no proposal to impose a lockdown in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on November 30, appealed again to people not to heed to rumours.

Speaking to reporters, he reiterated that "there is no question of imposing the lockdown now. Normal life should go on." However, he wanted people to strictly follow COVID norms in public places. Various institutions need to function responsibly by adhering to the norms at programmes conducted by them, he added.

The Chief Minister said that the State Government is keeping a strict vigil against Omicron, the new variant of the Coronavirus. Meanwhile, he added, overall precautions against COVID are being tightened. "The government is tackling the issue on two fronts. Test swab samples in suspicious cases have been sent to NCBS (National Center for Biological Sciences) for genome sequencing to ascertain the exact variant. International passengers are being strictly screened at the state airports. Those who were in contact with them are also being traced and tested," Bommai said.

The State Government issued guidelines for clusters where a surge in the Coronavirus cases has been reported. At the moment, more people are being tested at clusters reported in Mysuru, Hassan, and Anekal in Bengaluru, Bommai said. Additionally, tests are also underway in these clusters for those who tested positive for the virus even earlier. About 4,000 people have been tested at SDM Medical College in Dharwad after a little over 200 students tested positive late last week.