New Delhi: A negative Covid-19 test is now mandatory to visit the home office of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
According to government officials, those who wish to visit the chief minister at his home office Krishna can either carry a negative Covid test result taken in the past four-five days or mandatorily get tested at the entry gate of his residence and office. This new protocol came into effect Thursday.
Those with a prior appointment will be required to get an RT-PCR test done and will be allowed to meet Yediyurappa only after the results are out, 24 hours later. RT-PCR is the gold standard and recommended test to detect Covid-19.
The visitors who have emergency or pressing matters to discuss with the CM will be allowed to meet him after a rapid antigen test, which gives instant results but is less reliable.
“Every single visitor will be tested. Only after the test report is negative, will anyone be allowed into the office. This is to ensure everybody is safe’’, said Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar during a media briefing Thursday.
Yediyurappa had tested positive for coronavirus on 2 August and was admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru for nine days before he tested negative.
An official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) noted that the move to make tests mandatory was “better now than never”.
“We also need to set an example to people that the fight isn’t over yet. We lead by action. The CM has passed the tough phase without complications. But then we all should be alert,” the official told ThePrint.
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Ministers, staff to be tested as well
The tests at the CM’s home office will be mandatory for all visitors including ministers, bureaucrats and government officials.
The staff will also undergo this procedure, every four to five days, to contain any possible outbreaks of the virus.
On a normal working day, Krishna receives approximately 200 to 300 visitors a day while the CM’s official residence, Kaveri, receives about 100 visitors every day.
Looking at these numbers, Yediyurappa’s close aides are learnt to have advised the CM’s office to take these precautionary steps.
According to them, had these precautions been taken earlier, the chances of the CM getting infected with the virus would have been reduced.
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Precautions to curb spread of Covid
Bengaluru has been witnessing a renewed surge in Covid cases for the past few weeks. On Thursday, the day testing protocols at Krishna were started, the city recorded yet another record single-day spike in cases.
According to state data, 5,121 fresh cases were registered Thursday, which increased the positivity rate — indicating the spread of the infection — to 13.64 per cent.
Yediyurappa, 78, falls under the high-risk category and this strict protocol will ensure his safety as well as those who come in contact with him.
After he tested positive for Covid in August, as many as six official staff members working at the CM’s official residence also tested positive.
Even the state secretariat saw a large number of employees getting infected with the virus. The spread of the infection increased after the recently concluded session of the Karnataka Legislature.
Official estimates state that close to 40 per cent of the administrative staff are either infected, quarantined or have recovered after testing positive.
Also read: Symptomatic Covid patients drove infection in Karnataka, study finds
Sir i went bangalore to meet cm sir. To there house but infront of the gate so many police force they refuse us. They never did covid test to us. Simply they told you cant meet cm sir thats it. Sir its an request pls sir we want to meet cm sir.