Bengaluru will go into a complete lockdown from Tuesday in a bid to curtail the rising number of coronavirus cases in the Karnataka capital. On July 12, the Karnataka government had announced a complete shutdown in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts from 8 pm on July 14 to 5 am on July 22.
According to the guidelines published by the Karnataka Health Department, shops selling essentials, including milk and groceries, will stay open from 5 am to noon. Home delivery of essential items will also be permitted. Hospitals and medical shops will remain open.
Offices in the Vidhana Soudha and Vikas Soudha will work with 50% strength. Most government offices will be shut except those providing essential services, and persons going to work for permitted activities must carry their identity cards.
All public transport – road and rail – will be prohibited. However, flights and trains already scheduled will continue to operate, and passengers can use the tickets they have already booked. A valid pass will be required for inter-state and intra-state movement of people and goods. Such movement will be allowed only for activities exempted from the lockdown, or for emergencies.
Construction work that has already begun will continue. Hotels and restaurants will be allowed to serve only delivery or take away parcels. No dine-in services will be permitted.
Sports complexes, gymnasiums and swimming pools will remain closed, as will cinema theatres and malls. Religious places will also not open for worship.
Furthermore, the exemptions from the lockdown will apply only in areas that are not containment zones. The government also said that lockdown in containment zones will be in force till July 31.
Deve Gowda demands statewide lockdown
Meanwhile, Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Deve Gowda demanded that the government reimpose a statewide lockdown, the Hindustan Times reported.
Gowda also asked political parties not to target the government over matters like corruption at this time, ANI reported. “We need to focus on securing the health of the people,” he said. “We can discuss the corruption matters in the upcoming session of the state Assembly. Our main focus should be on health.”
Karnataka has so far reported 38,843 cases of the coronavirus, including 684 deaths. Bengaluru district has reported over 19,000 of these cases.
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