The Karnataka government on Monday ruled out the imposition of a lockdown despite a surge in coronavirus cases, but ordered a ban on protests and rallies for the next 15 days, ANI reported.
The government also banned parties in apartment complexes, since the number of cases there are rising. It said that strict action would be taken against people who don’t wear masks.
Meanwhile, a special coordination committee was formed on Monday to handle the situation in Bengaluru. It will include eight Indian Administrative Service officers and the commissioner and administrator of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, according to ANI.
Karnataka reported 2,792 new cases on Monday, taking its overall count to 9,89,804. Sixteen more deaths pushed the state’s toll to 12,520.
The state had registered 3,082 new coronavirus cases on Sunday – the second highest one-day count among the states, after Maharashtra. Bengaluru alone registered 2,004 new cases on Sunday. This was the city’s biggest one-day rise in cases since October 25, Bangalore Mirror reported.
Several other states are stepping up precautions amid the sharp increase in coronavirus cases. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday directed officials to prepare a plan for the implementation of a lockdown if people fail to adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour. The state had imposed a night curfew last week.
Rajasthan had also announced a night curfew in eight cities on March 21 and closed primary schools.
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