Coronavirus: Ministers, commissioners appointed for zone-wise COVID-19 management in Bengaluru

As on Thursday evening, Bengaluru has cumulatively reported 13,882 coronavirus cases with 10,870 remaining active  

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government appointed zonal ministers and commissioners for Bengaluru city. They will be in charge of curbing the spread of COVID-19.

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa on Thursday (July 9) appointed ministers to lead COVID-19 operations across eight zones identified within the city limits of Bengaluru.

The ministers in-charge of the eight BBMP zones are — Ashwathnarayan CN (BBMP west), R Ashok (BBMP south), S Suresh Kumar (Bommanahalli), V Somanna (BBMP east), ST Somashekar (RR Nagar), Byrathi Basavaraj (Mahadevapura), K Gopalaiah (Dasarahalli) and SR Vishwanath, the chief minister’s political secretary (Yelahanka).

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief secretary Vijay Bhaskar appointed eight zonal commissioners who will supervise the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) tasks in ensuring that contact tracing is done in a timely manner and that COVID-19 patients get beds in hospitals or care centres.

“Exercising powers under the Disaster Management Act 2005, the State Executive Committee is appointing these officers to effectively control the spread of COVID-19 in Bengaluru City,” the order from Bhaskar stated.

The zonal commissioners will supervise the functioning of zonal coordinators, suggest containment and management measures to arrest the spread of COVID-19, supervise BBMP’s joint commissioners, BBMP’s health officials, the civic body’s staff, and coordinate with necessary departments in the state government.

Meanwhile, Karnataka on Thursday reported 2,228 cases, 957 discharges and 17 deaths, according to the health department bulletin.

Bengaluru alone reported 1,373 new cases of the total 2,228 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, as the total tally of infections in Karnataka surged to 31,105.

Of the total positive cases, 12,833 persons have recovered and been discharged while 17,782 active cases are being treated at COVID-19 designated hospitals. 457 persons are admitted to the ICU. The death toll in the state stands at 486.

The following districts also reported a spike in cases: Dakshina Kannada — 167 cases, Kalaburagi — 85; Dharwad — 75; Mysuru — 52; Ballari — 41; Davangere — 40; Shivamogga — 37; Bagalkot — 36; Kolar — 34 and Chikkaballarpura — 32 cases.