Bengaluru:. The Karnataka government issued a warning on Tuesday to medical practitioners in the state to exercise restraint when offering their opinions on the Covid-19 situation in the state, warning that if they make baseless comments in public, they will be prosecuted under various laws.

"It has come to the attention of the government that a few medical practitioners, when communicating with the public through various media platforms, are providing incomplete, erroneous, and unfounded information concerning Covid-19," the circular stated. Medical practitioners who are skilled in both clinical and health sectors should use extreme caution and attention when dealing with the general public about Covid-19. Such misinformation confuses the general public about the current Covid situation in the state and encourages people to deviate from authorities' well-defined standards.

The Commissionerate of Health remarked, "It is expected that medical practitioners will refer to the guidelines/circulars/orders issued by the Government of Karnataka, and  any media/social platform."

The circular warned that any disinformation or false data on Covid-19 given on such platforms would be considered an offence, and required action would be taken under section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and section 4(K) of the Karnataka Epidemic Disease Act 2020.

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