Karnataka to unlock in phases from June 14; restrictions will remain in 11 districts

Karnataka unlock: Here is what will be allowed and not allowed from June 14.

Karnataka will relax its Covid-19 lockdown from June 14 in all except 11 districts. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday night announced a phased unlocking process for the state.

The existing lockdown rules will continue for districts with high test positivity rate (TPR) — Chikkamagaluru, Davangere, Mysuru, Hassan, Chamarajanagara, Mandya, Dakshina Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, Shivamogga, Belagavi and Kodagu. The government has given powers to district commissioners to implement stringent measures in consultation with the in-charge ministers for the 11 districts.

Meanwhile, night curfew will be in effect from 7 pm to 5 am in all other districts, including Bengaluru City. The weekend curfew will also be in effect from 7 pm on Friday till 5 am Monday starting from June 14.

The curbs have been in effect since April 27. On May 10, the Chief Minister announced a shutdown till May 24 morning. This was extended till June 7, and then, as per experts’ suggestion, further till June 14.

Why phased unlock

The panel of experts in the state’s Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) had earlier recommended allowing shops, hotels, and malls to operate for a few hours daily, to begin with. The TAC had also suggested restrictions on the movement of people from districts with more caseload to low-risk areas.

“It was decided to relax restrictions as per the Technical Advisory Committee’s recommendations in the meeting held today,” Yediyurappa said.

The TAC had recommended that restrictions can be lifted only if the test positivity rate (TPR) dips below 5 per cent and new cases fall under 5,000. Accordingly, on Thursday, Yediyurappa announced the unlock in a phased manner, while the 11 districts with high TPR continue to be locked down.

Here’s what will be allowed and not allowed from June 14

Essential shops open from 6 am to 2 pm, parks open from 5 am to 10 am, street vendors can operate from 6 am to 2 pm, autos and taxis with only 2 people can travel at a time, garment industry can function with 30 per cent capacity and factories will be allowed to open with 50 per cent capacity.

All construction activities are allowed to start. All shops pertaining to construction activities, like those selling cement and steel, are allowed to open.

Meanwhile, malls, cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools will remain shut and existing restrictions on marriage, funerals and public gatherings will continue.

Metro Rail and bus services are not allowed in this unlock. Inter-state and intra-state movement of passenger vehicles has been permitted by the government.

Detailed guidelines will be published by the Karnataka chief secretary later in the day, said Yediyurappa.

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