Karnataka Likely to Ease Night Curfew, Reopen Pubs From July 19 as Covid Cases Continue to Decline

Karnataka, which has been witnessing a steady decline in Covid-19 cases, is likely to further relax restrictions, lift night curfew and open pubs from July 19 — the day Unlock 4.0 is expected to come into force.

The state is also likely to reopen malls and extend business hours of shops and establishments.

“Some relaxations are on the cards and the issues of lifting the weekend curfew and reducing the hours of night curfew are being discussed. The chief minister will take a final call after the GoM meeting,” home minister Basavaraj Bommai

was quoted as saying last week.

On Tuesday the state government barred the entry of tourists on weekends at Nandi hills, a tourist spot in the outskirts of Bengaluru after huge crowds were seen on Sunday. An order from the Chikkaballapur district administration, dated July 12, barred tourist entry from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday.

Last week Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa met mall owners who sought permission to resume businesses. Officials in the chief minister’s office said Yediyurappa has responded positively to the request provided the businesses maintain the COVID protocol. The Karnataka government may also give a nod to opening of multiplexes and cinema halls with limited entry.

The state reported 1,386 fresh infections and 61 deaths on Monday, taking the caseload and toll to 28,72,684 and 35,896 respectively, the health department said. The fresh infections came down by about 600 compared to Sunday.

The active cases in the state stood at 35,896. As many as 3,204 patients recovered, taking the total recoveries to 28,01,907. The positivity rate for the day was 1.26 per cent and case fatality rate was 4.40 per cent.

Bengaluru Urban district reported 319 infections, the highest among all the districts of the state, and nine deaths. The city has so far reported 12,19,697 infections and 15,745 deaths.

There were 12,985 active cases. Mysuru remained as the second major COVID-19 hotspot with 177 infections and 10 deaths.

According to the bulletin, deaths were recorded in 22 districts including 10 in Dakshina Kannada and four in Mandya. There were zero deaths in Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Davangere, Kalaburagi, Uttara Kannada and Yadgir.

The state conducted 1,09,399 COVID tests including 90,903 RT-PCR tests and other methods.So far 3.60 crore tests were done cumulatively, the department added. There were 2,03562 inoculations done on Monday, taking the total vaccinations to 2.58 crore.

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