The government of Karnataka decided on Tuesday to impose a weekend curfew and extend the curfew for two weeks in Bengaluru, given the alarming rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The government has also decided to close schools and pre-university colleges for two weeks, except for 10th and 12th standard students.
“We have decided that, with the exception of the 10th and 12th grades, the schools will be closed for the rest of the classes in Bengaluru. These COVID rules will come into effect from Wednesday evening,” Karnataka’s revenue minister R Ashoka told reporters.
Ashoka said there will be a two-week curfew from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. All essential services will continue, he added.
The government also announced an extension of the curfew, which ends on January 7, by two weeks.
The minister also said that there should be no congregation of more than 200 people in open-place marriages and 100 in marriage halls. There should also be 50 percent occupancy in pubs, bars, cinemas and shopping centers and those who work and visit these places must have both shots of the COVID vaccine.
Also, the government has decided to make a negative RT-PCR test report mandatory for those coming to the state from Maharashtra, Kerala and Goa, the minister said.
Government offices will have to follow the guidelines of the government of India, he explained.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, attended by senior ministers, including Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar, Ashoka and Minister of Higher Education Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, medical experts and senior officials.
The meeting was held in view of the sudden jump in COVID cases in the state. Karnataka registered 2,479 cases and four fatalities on Tuesday. Since January 1, the city has been registering more than 1,000 cases daily.
