Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan has said that

lockdown 2.0 is not the panacea for COVID-19 second wave as it was not suitable in the current context. It was better for people coming to Bengaluru from other places to undergo mandatory RT-PCR testing. 

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here yesterday, he said, “I am opposed to lockdown personally as no one has the power to sustain it. Need of the hour is to save lives and lead normal life. People have suffered a lot in the last one year and they need not suffer one more time.”

He said free Covid-19 testing was going on everywhere and people need not spend a single paisa on it. Those who come to Bengaluru must get tested and not to be complacent. Let them not neglect any single symptom of COVID-19 and voluntarily undergo free testing. The political parties, instead of politicking over Corona crisis, must create awareness among the masses on problems if they continue to flout the safety protocols.

No one is superman 

Dr. Ashwathnarayan said, free testing was going on in all Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Anganwadi Centres and other Healthcare facilities. People should not be overconfident that they were physically strong and nothing would happen to them. Everyone must remember that he was not a superman. Number of testing centre has been increased and over one lakh tests were done daily. Persons with the symptoms must get tested free of cost. There were medicines and vaccines for the illness. People need not get admitted to Hospitals as they can isolate at home and get treatment, he added.

The Dy.CM said both the vaccination drive and the vaccination manufacturing were going on efficiently in the country. The aim was to cover the entire population under the vaccination as early as possible. The intensity of COVID-19 second wave was less but it spread fast. Middle-age population was hit hard. Some persons despite having the symptoms, were not taking treatment which was causing problems. None should be lax despite tested negative, he warned. 

He brushed aside former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy’s statement that the export of vaccine to other countries created shortage in India and advised him to get the facts corrected. There was no shortage of vaccine in the State, thanks to preparations. Making such baseless statements would mislead innocent citizens, he said adding that the Government was taking decisions in due consultation with Opposition parties and the question of neglecting them does not arise.