The Karnataka government on Saturday, 19 June, further relaxed the lockdown restrictions from Monday in 16 districts including Bengaluru Urban, where the positivity rate was less than five percent.
The 16 districts are Bengaluru Urban, Uttara Kannada, Belgaum, Mandya, Koppal, Chikkaballapur, Tumkur, Kolar, Gadag, Raichur, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Haveri, Ramanagara, Yadgir, Bidar.
The following rules, which have been announced, come into effect from Monday for two weeks until 5 July:
- Shops open till 5:00 pm.
- Hotels open till 5:00 pm for dine-in at 50 percent capacity (without AC and excluding alcohol).
- Outdoor film shooting, sports (without spectators) are allowed.
- Buses and metro allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity.
- Lodges, resorts, gyms allowed to operate at 50 percent capacity.
- Government/private offices allowed to operate at 50 percent.
In the 13 districts, with a test positivity rate between five to ten percent, the guidelines mentioned in the 11 June order will apply.
These 13 districts are Hassan, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Bangalore Rural, Davanagere, Kodagu, Dharwad, Bellary, Chitradurga and Vijayapura districts.
In Mysuru district alone, where the positivity rate is over 10 percent, the lockdown relaxations will continue.
The new lockdown rules will be in effect until 5 July. The statewide night curfew and weekend curfew will remain as it is. The night curfew will be in place from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am everyday and the weekend curfew will be from 7:00 pm on Friday to 5:00 am on Monday. Bus transport will be limited to 50 percent capacity in the state.
Educational institutes, religious places, shopping malls, theatres, pubs, amusement parks etc are not allowed to open yet, as per an announcement by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. He urged residents in the state to continue following COVID-19 protocols.
(This was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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