In U-turn, Karnataka imposes night curfew in Bengaluru, 6 other cities
For next 10 days from April 10, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur and Udupi-Manipal will have night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am
CM ‘softens’ blow, says no essential services will be hit by night curfew
BENGALURU:
Cementing its ‘flip-flop’ reputation for chopping and changing previous decisions on Covid-19 guidelines, the Karnataka government has done it once again. Late on Thursday, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announced the imposition of a 10-day night curfew from April 10 in 7 cities of the state, including Bengaluru city.
The night curfew will be imposed in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur and Udupi-Manipal, and will operate from 10 pm to 5 am.
The Chief Minister’s announcement came in the wake of a video-conference review chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Chief Ministers of all states, including Yediyurappa.
In an attempt to sweeten the night curfew pill, the Karnataka government has stated that essential services will not be hit.
PM briefed on Karnataka
Briefing the media after the video-conference with the PM, the Chief Minister said Karnataka conveyed the information that the lion’s share of the Covid-positive cases were being reported from Bengaluru and 6 other districts. “Though there is a surge in the number of cases, the fatality rate remains low. The case fatality rate was 0.50% in the state yesterday (Wednesday). The Government of India has also expressed satisfaction with this. The Prime Minister stressed enhanced testing. He also advised us to focus on micro-containment zones. He told us to ensure sufficient ambulances, oxygen supply and ventilators,” the CM said.
The Prime Minister called upon states to promote the vaccination drive from April 11 (Jyotiba Phule’s birthday) to April 14 (Dr Ambedker’s birthday), Yediyurappa said.
The Prime Minister also recommended taking up awareness campaigns about Covid-appropriate behaviour (CAB) with the help of celebrities and opinion-makers in society, with a special focus on youths.
“We (the Karnataka government) have prohibited gatherings for fairs and festivals, and other religious and social gatherings, and are ensuring that these rules are complied with. Action has been initiated to impose penalties on those who do not wear masks and maintain social distancing in public places,” the CM said.
Vaccination achievements
“We have taken up vaccination on a large scale. About 6,000 vaccination centres are working daily. Of these, 5,400 are in government facilities and 600 in private facilities. So far, we have vaccinated more than 53 lakh people. We have vaccinated 22.31 % of the target population above 45 years of age, as compared to the national average of 13.94 %, as on April 5,” Yediyurappa said.
Took part in the Video Conference held by Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi with Chief Ministers of all states to review the Covid-19 situation. Briefed @PMOIndia about the measures being undertaken in the state to contain the second wave of pandemic.@AmitShah pic.twitter.com/csuuv6frKy
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) April 8, 2021
“We have taken utmost care to minimise vaccine wastage. Due to the surge, we have doubled the number of (daily) tests to about 1.20 lakh now. These days, more than 95% of the tests are being conducted using the RT-PCR method,” the CM said.
“We have ramped up the number of general beds, oxygenated beds and ICUs. We have more than 42,000 general beds, 30,000 oxygenated beds, 3,000 ICUs and 2,900 beds with ventilators in general hospitals,” he said.
Yediyurappa told the mediapersons that he had requested the PM to provide oxygen generators from the PM-CARES fund to decrease the load on oxygen manufacturing units in the state.
‘People should co-operate’
“We are taking all possible measures to contain the pandemic and hope to succeed with support from the Central government. But co-operation and responsible behaviour of citizens matters most. So, I appeal to the people of the state to follow all the guidelines issued by the government from time to time and help us contain the pandemic,” he said.
Karnataka is among 10 states, besides Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab, that have shown a steep rise in daily Covid-19 cases accounting for 84.21 per cent of the record 1.26 lakh new infections countrywide on Thursday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
India’s Covid-19 cases have soared 13-fold in barely two months. According to the Centre, a vicious second wave propelled by open disregard for safety protocols nationwide has seen the third-hardest hit country soaring past its mid-September peak of around 98,000 cases a day.
Also Read: DC snubbed: Govt rescinds order on RT-PCR negative report for Bengalureans visiting Mysuru https://thebengalurulive.com/dc-snubbed-govt-rescinds-order-on-rt-pcr-negative-report-for-bengalureans-visiting-mysuru/
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