Hostels turn clusters, new norms soon

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The state government will issue separate Covid guidelines for hostels in a day or two in the wake of the rise in Delta variant cases and the discovery of Omicron, a new variant, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting here on Thursday, he said a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for hostels has become necessary as they have become hotspots of Corona cases. The hostel authorities would be instructed to sanitise the entire premises twice a day, allow inmates to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in separate groups, impose restriction on visitors, ensure double vaccination for the kitchen staff and set up isolation wards. A similar SOP would be issued for cluster management too, he added.

Bommai said the ministers have suggested him to take up the vaccination programme aggressively by holding special drives across the state. Accordingly, the authorities concerned would be asked to accelerate vaccinations in districts which have not achieved the target yet especially pertaining to the second dose.

Replying to a question, the CM said vigil on the Karnataka-Kerala border would continue and a watch would be kept on people coming from Kerala. The rule pertaining to RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hours and the e-certificate proving double dose vaccination would continue. People from Kerala must also undergo another round of the RT-PCR test on their arrival in Karnataka.

Bommai ruled out imposition of night curfew for now and said a decision would be taken in consultation with experts and members of the Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 management. On Covid curbs for Christmas and New Year celebrations, he said he would study the situation and decide whether tough rules are required to prevent congregation of people to avoid Covid spread.