In light of the second wave of COVID-19 cases, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Thursday, 25 March, said that from 1 April, all passengers travelling to Karnataka capital Bengaluru from any other state in India will need to undergo RT-PCR tests and show a negative report before they can enter the city.
Earlier, the state government had made it compulsory for passengers from Punjab, Chandigarh, Maharashtra, and Kerala to carry a negative RT-PCR test report before they could enter Karnataka.
The Health Minister said this decision is being taken as 60 percent of Bengaluru’s cases have an interstate travel history. He later clarified to TNM that this rule would apply to all those who are travelling to Bengaluru, and by all modes of transport.
The government has also said that those who opt for home isolation will be hand-stamped, in a bid to curb infections. He suggested that the Quarantine Watch application, introduced to track home isolation, will be brought back to use. The use of the application was paused after the state witnessed a drop in cases.
He added in light of this spike in cases, the government will impose restrictions on events. With this only 200 people will be allowed to attend indoor-held events while 500 will be the cap for events that are held outdoors.
Noting that 200 ambulances have been deployed in the city, he said that based on the requirement, more ambulances will be introduced to fight the pandemic.
Karnataka on Wednesday reported more than 2,000 cases for the second straight day. This is the first time after November 2020 that the state recorded over 2,000 daily cases. While there has been an increase in cases since the beginning of March, there has been no increase in the fatality rate so far.
On Wednesday, the Karnataka health minister had warned that those found not wearing masks in the state will be fined. The fine for not wearing masks in urban areas in the state is Rs 250 and in rural areas it is Rs 100.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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