The Congress has demanded that the State government open testing centres for the novel coronavirus in all taluk and district headquarters for providing free treatment to the infected.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president-designate D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the party’s COVID-19 task force head K.R. Ramesh Kumar and other senior leaders participated in the first meeting of the task force and urged the government to provide medical insurance coverage for doctors working in State government facilities and private hospitals.
Over the course of the day-long meeting, the party took several decisions to fight COVID-19 and asked the government to make efforts to provide masks and gloves to paramedical staff.
The party also said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa must convene a meeting of the State-level bankers’ committee to issue directions to bankers on deferring repayment of loans by farmers and others by three months.
Besides providing food to people stuck on the border areas of the State, Mr. Shivakumar said the government should arrange transport for the poor to get to their native places. He also appealed for the provision of adequate publicity to State and Union government orders issued during the lockdown.
Directing party workers not to collect funds or materials from the public, Mr. Shivakumar instructed Congress leaders, legislators and workers to donate money to the party’s relief fund.
