Lok Sabha bypolls in Karnataka are being blamed for the surge in covid-19 cases in the district of Belgaum, near Bengaluru. Government data shows 8,722 people have tested positive in the past five days.
The positivity rate on Tuesday touched a staggering 81.4 per cent and MG Hiremath, deputy commissioner, has now ordered a total lockdown this weekend.
According to a report by Times of India, in just about a week, over 10 people have died. Villagers actively participated in the bypoll, held a local fair and over 150 taxi drivers were making trips to Maharashtra until last week.
Ashok Chandaragi, social and political activist, slammed political parties, saying their mega rallies and behaviour of top functionaries had led people to drop their guard. He said the perception was that the state had successfully defeated the virus. “At political events, no one wore masks or maintained social distancing. This has led to the surge,” he told TOI.
Krishna Giriyannavar, a civic activist, called for the border to be sealed. “Namesake restrictions at the border have inflicted deep wounds,” he said. “Political parties too are complicit for their callous campaigns.”
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won in the bypolls to Belgaum Lok Sabha constituency.
With a total of 6,790 in barely 17 days, Karnataka’s Covid-19 toll have now overtaken that of Delhi, which had been reporting maximum deaths since the last one month.
On Monday, Karnataka, which is now the state with second highest number of deaths in the country, reported 22,313 deaths, compared to 21,846 in the national capital, Times of India reported.
On Tuesday, it reported 525 more deaths, of which 317 were reported from Bengaluru. Overall, the state has reported a daily average of 400 deaths in the month of May.
According to a report in Indian Express, while the discharges (59,395) outnumbered new cases (30,309) in the state, testing was recorded to be at its lowest this month, with only 93,247 samples tested for coronavirus.
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