Bengaluru,  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Administrator Rakesh Singh said on Monday that to effectively control the spread of Covid-19, the BBMP officials must work in coordination with the police in order to raise awareness among people on the need to follow Covid rules in the city.

If citizens are found flouting the rules, even after raising awareness, they must be penalised and cases must be filed against them, he said.

He was speaking at the coordination meeting held between BBMP and the police department regarding the enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour in the city.

He said that appropriate measures should be taken to control the virus at the zonal level. Measures must be taken to contain the Covid virus at the grassroots level, he noted.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said strict measures need to be taken to control the Covid spread in the city.

He also instructed the authorities to penalise and file cases against those flouting rules.

Noting that a large number of migrants from Kerala and Maharashtra are coming to the city, the Chief Commissioner said separate teams have been deployed at major bus stops and railway stations in this regard.

Migrants from both states must submit the RT-PCR negative report obtained within 72 hours. If the RT-PCR test is not submitted, the health care team will collect swabs for tests and the travellers will remain in institutional quarantine until the report is received. He also said that mandatory checks must be conducted on people arriving at airports and check-posts.

He stressed the need to follow the night curfew in the city which is from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Police cooperation is key to ensure night curfew is followed properly, he added.

Officials must ensure that Covid rules are followed in crowded areas like markets, malls, temples, hotels and restaurants.

A team of BBMP officials should work in tandem with police personnel to ensure rules are followed and in case of rules being flouted, a fine must be imposed, the Chief Commissioner instructed. Strict measures must be taken at the zonal level to contain Covid. Awareness regarding following Covid norms must be raised through loudspeakers, he said.

BBMP has been taking several of precautionary measures such as physical triage, contact tracing, isolation, and areas with three or more cases are made containment zones to stop the spread of Covid, Gupta said.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said that there is good coordination between the BBMP officials and the police staff and added that the police department will cooperate in every way possible. Cases will be filed against those who are not following Covid rules, he said.