Did govt make hasty move?

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: The state government seems to decided to lift the weekend curfew in a hurry without considering the explosion of Corona positive cases across Karnataka in the last 10 days. The situation has gone from bad to worse especially in the last two to three days with daily cases breaching the 40,000 mark.

Without directly accepting that pressure from traders and businessmen was the reason behind the withdrawal of the weekend curfew rules, the government cited ‘experts’ opinion for the decision. Since the high-power committee chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, met in-camera, it is not known whether the experts gave the suggestion or the government made them to say this keeping in view the pressure from various quarters including ruling party leaders to end the ‘curfew raj’ in Karnataka.

Some experts have predicted that Corona cases will cross the one lakh mark during the first and second week of February from the 48,000 cases reported on Thursday. Several districts are clocking over 1,500 cases daily while as many as 15 districts are reporting cases in the range of 500 to 800.

Even the number of deaths is slowly increasing in the last 10 days but political leaders argue that the number of deaths is very less compared to the total cases reported in the State.

Medical experts who spoke to News Trail on the condition of anonymity said the government has taken a big risk by lifting the weekend curfew at a time when there is a surge in cases especially in Bengaluru. Around 65 to 70 per cent of the cases are from Bengaluru City alone which proves how volatile the situation is in the state capital. With the lifting of night curfew, people may go out and mingle with others on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night in public places. Naturally these places may become hotspots.

The government must have its own model for imposing curbs instead of comparing itself with other states. It has taken a decision in hurry without understanding the implications. Continuing the weekend lockdown by one or two weeks would have helped the health department manage the situation, the experts added.

Former CM H.D.Kumaraswamy had asked the government to go slow on lifting the weekend curfew.