Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Friday evening announced a complete lockdown across the state to arrest the spread of Covid-19. The lockdown is imposed from 6 am on May 10, Monday, till 6 am on May 24. Speaking to reporters, Yediyurappa said: "The second wave of covid-19 is creating havoc across the state and the corona curfew imposed earlier has not given expected results in reducing the infection and death rate, therefore, we have decided to impose stringent measures.” Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox On May 4, the government had imposed a 'close down' across the state till May 12, despite which the number of Covid19 cases and related fatalities continued to rise. In an order issued by the government, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar has stated: “The situation of Covid-19 in the state was reviewed and it was observed that daily new Covid-19 positive cases have continued unabated with a high positivity rate. The state is satisfied that further stringent containment measures are needed to be implemented to combat the surge of cases.” Under Section 24 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, revised guidelines to break the chain of COVID 19 transmission in the state has been the chief secretary further said in the order. According to the revised guidelines, only flights and trains scheduled will continue to operate during this period. "Flight and train tickets shall serve as the passes for movement of persons by personal vehicles/taxis/cab aggregators/autorickshaws to board flight and trains.” Karnataka lockdown: What is not allowed *Metro Rail, taxi and bus services (except while hired for emergency). *Schools and colleges (Online/ distance learning is permitted). *Cinemas, shopping malls, stadiums and swimming pools. *Social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious functions and other gatherings and congregations. *Religious places will remain closed for the public. *No movement of public or private buses or passenger vehicles. *Hotels, restaurants, liquor shops and hospitality services can only act as takeaway and home delivery.(home delivery allowed) *Inter-state and intra-state movement of passenger vehicles allowed in cases of emergencies or as permitted. Karnataka lockdown: What is allowed" *Flights and trains: Tickets will act as a pass for movement of person. *Karnataka government offices *Departments dealing with health *Municipal administration *District administration *Medical education. *Police, civil defence, defence, fire and emergency services. *Water, electricity and sanitation. *Government of India offices such as defence, defence PSUs, armed police forces. *Petroleum, CNG, LPG, PNG, power generation and disaster management. *Banks, RBI regulated financial markets *Microfinance institutions *The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. *Homes for children, disabled, mentally challenged, senior citizens, destitutes and women. *Agriculture activities, supply chain of essential goods *Movement of all types of goods and cargo *Manufacturing wholesale, retail, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies *Groceries shops will open from 6 am to 10 am * Fruits, vegetables, dairy shops and milk booths (6 am to 10 am) * Meat and fish and animal fodder (all from 6 am to 10 am.) * All food processing and related industries. *Construction activities and repair work. *Print and electronic media. *Construction activities with in-situ labourers/workers *Road works * Marriages (only with 50 persons in attendance) *Cremations or funerals (only with five persons in attendance) Why a complete lockdown in Karnataka? Karnataka, especially the capital city Bengaluru, is reeling under the second wave of Covid-19 that has severely affected healthcare infrastructure where patients are struggling to getting oxygen, ventilator, and ICU beds. The crematoriums are running at full capacity in Bengaluru. Karnataka has 536,641 active cases, of which Bengaluru city alone has contributed 341,978 cases. While the state has reported 17,804 Covid deaths so far, Bengaluru has reported 7,491 deaths. Karnataka 'close down' did not yield results: Health Minister On Friday, Karnataka reported its highest single-day count of 592 Covid deaths, showing that imposing curfew was not effective and result-oriented steps like a complete 14-day lockdown, like the one imposed at the start of the pandemic, was necessary, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said.
