Karnataka government warns healthcare workers not to spread misinformation

Bangalore: The Karnataka government has issued a warning notice for healthcare workers in the state in order to caution them against spreading "misinformation" or fake news related to Covid-19, and exercise "utmost care" when communicating to the public.

"It has come to the notice of government, that a few medical practitioners, while communicating with public on various media platforms are giving incomplete, inaccurate and unsubstantiated information about Covid 19. Such information leads to confusion in public on the prevailing Covid scenario in the state and encourages them to deviate from well laid out guidelines issued by the health and revenue authorities," the state government's health department said in the statement.

Any violations will be met with action under the Disaster Management and the Epidemics Act, the notice warned.

In another notification released on Tuesday, the state government said that the respective district administrations should strictly implement containment measures. It also added that the officers who do not take action against violators of containment measures will also be liable for action.

Controversy has been surrounding Covid-19 issues in the state as senior political leaders and parties flouted precautions and Covid norms with impunity. Recent remarks by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and cabinet minister Umesh Katti where he said that wearing of mask is a personal choice also came under sharp criticism as people questioned why the authorities never took action against politicians holding public events.

Karnataka on Tuesday reported as many as 41,457 new COVID-19 cases. The positivity rate stands at 22.30 %.

India saw a single-day rise of 2,82,970 new coronavirus infections taking the tally of cases to 37,901,241, which included 8,961 cases of the Omicron variant detected so far, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday.