COURTESY TOI JULY 16

Only God can save K’taka, says mantri as cases rise
Stopping Surge In No One’s Hands: Health Minister
S A Gangaraju TNN

Chitradurga:

Karnataka’s health minister B Sriramulu, who also heads the state’s Covid-19 task force, struck a note of despair on Wednesday over the surge of cases, saying “only God can save us”. He also appeared to be responding to criticism about the state government’s handling of the pandemic, saying stopping the spike was “not in anybody’s hands”.

The state’s caseload is approaching 50,000 while the number of deaths is past 900. For days in a row, Karnataka has reported the third highest spike in infections and worryingly, the second highest toll in the country. “Only God can save us, and we have to bring in caution on our own,” the minister said, responding to questions about the state’s response to the pandemic. “World over, the cases are doubling indiscriminately. It (coronavirus) does not differentiate between poor and rich or choose a community or religion. There is no class or caste difference. The cases are 100% going to increase from now.”

He added, “You can say it is the government’s apathy, ministers’ irresponsibility or blame the lack of coordination among ministers for the spike in cases. But it’s not in anybody’s hands.” Sriramulu was referring to reports about differences between senior ministers on Covid-19 management, leading to the CM splitting up responsibilities among them about a fortnight ago. “Unless we practise social distancing and wear masks, this disease cannot be weeded out,” the minister said.