Bengaluru: In the wake of rising coronavirus cases, the BS Yediyurappa-led Karnataka government has now decided to impose a ban on all construction activities during the weekends.”We have banned all civil and all construction work during weekends, till the weekend curfew is in force. As of now, weekend curfew will be in force till May 4,” Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka told reporters.
The minister also stated that no labourer should work during weekends, be it at construction sites or otherwise. “We have instructed the construction industry to stop its work during weekends. Our new restrictions will be implemented during the weekends,” he said.
With this, Karnataka has virtually decided to impose lockdown during the weekends without using the terminology in its order. Notably, a strict weekend curfew to contain COVID-19 came into effect in the main cities and towns of Karnataka including Benglauru from Friday night, and it will remain in force till Monday morning.
Karnataka Weekend Lockdown: Except For Essential Workers, No One Will Be Allowed To Move
Ashoka further stated that no one will be allowed to move around anywhere in the state during this period except those who are working in essential services – fire, police, water supply, electricity supply, telecom and patients, while milk booths, meat shops and grocery shops will operate between 6 am and 10 am.
“People can buy their day-to-day requirements from the nearest grocery shops in their locality. No citizen will be allowed to travel beyond his locality. No one will be allowed to enter religious institutions, barring the caretakers of these places,” he added. The minister asserted that there is no need for people to come out of their house if they have adequate ration.
COVID-19 in Karnataka
The strict measures come as Karnataka’s COVID-19 fatalities crossed the 14,000 mark with 190 deaths, while the single-day highest of 26,962 fresh cases took the caseload to 12,74,959.
While the total fatalities were 14,075, the active cases in the state too crossed the two lakh mark — 2,14,311, including 1,128 in the ICU.
The state had reported the single-day highest mark on Thursday with 25,795 cases.
Bengaluru urban district accounted for 16,662 fresh infections and 124 deaths on Friday.The city has so far reported 6,15,581 infections and 5,574 deaths. There are 1,49,624 active cases.