Bengaluru news live: Karnataka shuts 13 Kerala entry points to prevent Covid spread

People in Kerala, who live near the entry points to Karnataka got a rude jolt after the authorities on Monday decided to close 13 points of entry in districts Wayanad and Kasargode. These open borders provide a huge succour to the people living on either side. They move freely for various needs, especially the farming community who regularly move from Kerala to engage in such activities on the lands they either own or take on lease in Karnataka.

Petrol bunks across the state are worried over the challenges they may face if the petrol price crosses Rs 100-per-litre mark. Reason: dispensing units (DUs), which can display a maximum price of Rs 99.99, may stop working. As the DUs are calibrated for digital display of prices in two digits with as many decimals, they can display a maximum price of Rs 99.99. Currently, petrol price is Rs 93.46 for motor spirit and Rs 96.34 for extra premium.

Active Covid cases in Karnataka crossed the 6,000-mark again, with 413 patients testing positive in a day, said the state health bulletin on Sunday.

The Parking Policy 2.0 prepared by Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) for Bengaluru has suggested fitting cameras in BMTC buses to book traffic violators. “All transport buses of BMTC can be fitted with a camera focusing on the road using the government funding. This would give continuous data on parking violations and electronic records for all accident cases involving buses,” it reads.

Although it has the most healthcare and frontline workers in the state, Covid-19 vaccination coverage is the least, in percentage terms, in Bengaluru Urban district. So far, only 36% of healthcare and 26% frontline workers have been inoculated. Comparatively, all other districts have more than 40% coverage among healthcare and all but one district fare better than the capital as far as frontline workers go, data up to Saturday (February 20) shows.

Considering the potential impact of the rise in cases in Kerala and Maharashtra, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Karnataka health and family welfare department have planned community-based surveillance to nip infections. At a meeting between the health commissioner and BBMP officials including zonal joint commissioners and primary health centre (PHC) medical officers on Sunday, emphasis was laid on bridging the gap between community and health systems.

Amid fears of a second wave of Covid-19 infections and with cases rising in neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra, the state government has made it mandatory for catering staff to undergo RT-PCR tests every fortnight in an effort to stave off potential spread of the virus. In an order released on Saturday, the government said it is important for food handlers at marriages, birthdays, social, religious, political gatherings and in hotels, restaurants, resorts and dhabas to take suitable measures to restrict transmission of the virus while they go about their work. Food handlers and catering services in containment zones have been ordered closed.

Several schools in the state — including those affiliated to CBSE, ICSE and international boards — will neither hold online nor regular classes on Tuesday as part of a protest to press for the implementation of their demands, including roll back in cap on tuition fee. Many schools plan to engage students on Saturday (Feb 27) to compensate for missed classes or postponed preparatory exams. The protest has been called by various associations including Management of Independent CBSE Schools Association, Karnataka ICSE Schools Association, Association of Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools of Karnataka and Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association among others.