The Karnataka government has confirmed that the complete lockdown proposed for Sundays will not be followed this week.
In a statement released by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), it was clarified that the lockdown restrictions will not be followed due to public demand.
"Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has said that due to public demand, there will be no complete lockdown on Sunday 31.05.2020 for the benefit of the people of the state," read the statement from the CMO.
"Against this backdrop, all day-to-day activities on Sundays are as usual," added the statement.
The Karnataka government had earlier announced on May 18 that a complete lockdown in the state on Sundays starting from 7 pm on Saturday evening and ending at 7 am on Monday morning.
Other than essential services, strict curfew was followed in Bengaluru and other parts of the state on May 24. Public transport was stopped and shops remained closed on this day. The curfew restricted people's movements until 7 am on Monday when normal services resumed. This was expected to be followed once again on May 31, the last day of the current lockdown rules announced by the government. However, the state government has decided against holding a lockdown this Sunday.
This is despite the fact that on Friday, the state reported the highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases. 248 new cases were reported on the day taking the state's total tally to 2781. 303 of these cases have been reported in Bengaluru while almost half of the cases reported are those who returned from Maharashtra to the state over the past few days.
Despite the increasing cases, the state government has favoured reducing the restrictions of the lockdown within the state. The state government however has mandated institutional quarantine for international and inter-state travellers flying in from high-risk states.
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