Karnataka Lockdown updates: COVID curbs, weekend curfew, reopening of schools & more

UPDATE at 10:15 pm:  Weekend curfew will be imposed from 10 pm of Friday to 5 am of Monday in Karnataka, in view of rising COVID-19 cases, news agency ANI reported quoting Karnataka minister R Ashoka. He further said that theatres, malls, pubs and bars will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity and no gatherings will be allowed at public places.

Karnataka on Tuesday reported 2,479 new COVID-19 infections and four deaths of which 2,054 cases and three fatalities were in Bangaluru itself. The state's Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Tuesday emphasised that special measures were needed to be put in place for Bengaluru due to the high number of cases in the city. Stating that the third wave had set in, Health Minister Sudhakar predicted that the state's capital will be an epicentre of the new outbreak, just like how it was for the previous two waves.

Pressing for special measures in Bengaluru, MLA Sudhakar said that the city has an international airport. In a tweet, the Sudhakar informed that the Positivity rate in the state has shot up to 2.59%.

"If you look at the national figure, maximum cases are coming in the metropolitan cities. Almost 90 per cent are in those cities. Hence, we are concentrating on Bengaluru with a focus on the formation of micro-containment zones and screening at the airport," the minister said.

The Minister further said that the third wave had arrived. "What's the present scenario? Isn't it the third wave? For six months, Karnataka did not have 0.1 per cent cases. If it has gone up to 1.6 per cent on a single day, this is the beginning of the third wave," Sudhakar said.

Karnataka lockdown update

When asked about the possible lockdown, the Karnataka Health Minister urged the media not to use "strong words". He said that public life is returning to normalcy. "If we start talking of it, then it will disrupt lives," he said.

Karnataka COVID-19 curbs

Karnataka has already imposed a night curfew and asked citizens to follow COVID appropriate protocols such as wearing masks and washing or sanitizing hands at regular intervals. Chief Minister Sasavaraj Bommai led Karnataka government is holding a crucial meeting on Tuesday to review the night curfew and other restrictions. The decision on the closure of schools will also be decided.

On Tuesday, Karnataka reported 0 new cases of Variant of Concern (VoC) Omicron, so the tally remains at 77. A total of 1,892 Omicron cases have been reported in India, of which 766 have recovered. The maximum cases have been reported in Maharashtra (568) followed by Delhi (382), Kerala (185), Rajasthan (174) and Gujarat (152).