Amid raising Covid cases as 95 fresh cases were recorded in the last 24 hours in Karnataka, state's health minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the situation is not alarming and the government has decided to mandate all health staff to wear masks while they are working in the facilities.
"It's not alarming as such, still, we thought we should meet with the experts' committee & take stock of the situation...We have decided to mandate all health staff to wear masks while they are working in the facilities," the health minister told ANI.
In fresh guidelines, the state government has urged people to avoid the unnecessary crowds and undertake hygiene protocols. "We've also advised children, people above 65 years of age who have comorbidities and pregnant women to take preventive measures and avoid the unnecessary crowd and undertake hygiene protocols, said Dr K Sudhakar.
The minister also said that in the last one week, there has been a rise in Covid cases.
Meanwhile, a day after the Indian Council on Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed that the rise in high fever and cough cases in the country is caused by 'H3N2' variant of Influenza A subtype, the State government in Karnataka has called for a high-level meeting with the health department officials and experts on Monday to discuss the spread of the flu variant and identify treatment methods for the infection amid rise in cases.
Health Minister K Sudhakar said that the Centre's guidelines in this regard will be adhered to. "On Saturday, the Union Health Ministry communicated to us (state) to pay attention to it (H3N2). Our Health Commissioner and Principal Secretary have held discussions regarding this. A meeting has been called tomorrow regarding the precautionary measures to be taken," Sudhakar said.