A video of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announcing a lockdown at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 has been revived on social media as a recent one. On 17 March, Yediyurappa ruled out another lockdown or curfew in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases, following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other chief ministers.
Although, the state government led by BS Yediyurappa would have no option but to impose a lockdown in Bengaluru again if people fail to exercise caution amid rising coronavirus or COVID-19 cases, said Bengaluru Municipal Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad. He made the statement during a crucial meeting which was attended by civic body’s doctors, officials, Joint Commissioners and Special Commissioners in the Town Hall. Notably, there has been a steady rise in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru in the last couple of days. “We need to strictly enforce social distancing norms as well as compulsory wearing of masks. We can not ignore these two basic requirements to keep this virus at bay. Even the slightest laxity in implementing these norms could push them to the brink of lockdown in Bengaluru at least,” news agency IANS quoted the official as saying.
Recently, a video has been circulating on social media and messaging platforms. The video of Mr Yediyurappa’s news conference is from last year when he announced restrictions on pubs and hotels in the state as part of the nationwide lockdown. A video of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announcing new COVID-19 restrictions given the rise in coronavirus cases is an old one, the state government said on Wednesday. The video of Mr Yediyurappa’s news conference is from last year when he announced restrictions on pubs and hotels in the state as part of the nationwide lockdown.
The video has been circulating on social media and messaging platforms. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwathnarayan on Wednesday said the announcements were not new. Mr Yediyurappa attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with chief ministers on the surge in COVID-19 cases in some states on Wednesday and said there was no need to panic as the numbers were “well under control”.
Ruling out any lockdown or curfew, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to use masks and maintain physical distancing. He said the Prime Minister has asked Karnataka to focus on Bengaluru, and the districts of Kalaburagi and Bidar bordering Maharashtra given the rising coronavirus cases in these regions. The state has seen the peak from August to October 2020. Cases started declining in November 2020, but the decline was faster from December 2020. During the last about 10 days, the Covid cases are showing an increasing trend. The positivity rate has also increased to 1.65 per cent as of March 15,” he said.
Quoting the Prime Minister, Mr Yediyurappa said there was an adequate supply of vaccines. He added that coronavirus can only be controlled but cannot be wiped out completely. Mr Yediyurappa said he briefed PM Modi of the state government targets of vaccinating 3 lakh people every day and its plan to take up the drive at old-age homes and mega residential complexes. Karnataka has reported around 9.61 lakh COVID-19 cases and over 12,000 deaths so far. So, lockdown might not be implemented exactly at the very moment but can be considered as a last resort to prevent the outbreak of Covid-19 again.
