Doctors greet Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa as he is discharged.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who last week said that he had tested positive for coronavirus, was discharged from a private hospital in Bengaluru this morning. This was the second time that Mr Yediyurappa, 78, had contracted the virus.
Speaking to the reporters outside the hospital, the Karnataka Chief Minister said: "Coronavirus is spreading very fast. In one household, three-four people are contracting the virus. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the only solution is (use of) masks, sanitiser, and maintaining social distancing."
In an appeal to people, the BJP leader further said: "We have reached a stage where it cannot be controlled. From now on, please don't come out of your home unnecessarily. We have already taken a lot of steps and strict measures. Please don't give reasons to police to impose a fine on you for not wearing a mask. I request all your cooperation for the sake of everyone in (the) society."
The Chief Minister, who was hospitalised last week, continued to hold meetings virtually. On Monday, he chaired an all-party meeting to discuss the Covid situation.
On Tuesday there was another all-party meet chaired by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala after which tougher measures including state-wide night curfew and weekend curfew were announced.
Mr Yediyurappa wrote a letter to the state ministers after opposition leaders criticised the government over its handling of COVID-19 crisis.
"You need to swing into action to prevent the spread of the disease in your district concerned, get in touch with the district authorities continuously and create awareness among people on controlling the spread of the virus," Mr Yediyurappa told the ministers.
This morning, he told the reporters that he has another cabinet meeting at 4 PM on Covid.
"I have come out in good health. There is a cabinet meeting at 4pm today. We will discuss measure to control the disease in the districts. I have been in constant touch with ministers."
Last week, in a tweet, he announced that he had tested positive for Covid. "Upon having mild fever, today I got tested for Covid-19 and my report has come out positive. Although I am doing fine, I am being hospitalised based on the advice of doctors. I request all those who have come in my contact recently to be observant and exercise self-quarantine," his tweet read.
Karnataka was one of the five states that recorded the highest number of Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The southern state has so far logged over 12.22 lakh cases and over 23,000 deaths.
India saw a record spike of over 3 lakh fresh Covid cases for the first time this morning, taking the caseload to 1.59 crore.