K Gopalaiah

Owing to the COVID-19 situation, Karnataka government had extended its lockdown till June 14, however there are chances that lockdown may get extended till June 21. According to Karnataka minister and in-charge of Hassan district K Gopalaiah, "Now lockdown has been imposed till 14th June, same will be discussed with officials and it will continue till 21st in Hassan."

He said that it will be conveyed to the CM BS Yeddiyurappa as he's coming to Hassan district tomorrow.

The government had initially announced 14 days ‘close down’ from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to May 24, as the Covid cases continued to spike. Citing lockdown yielding results and experts advice, it was further extended till June 7 and then again till June 14.

With new Covid-19 cases and the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) dipping, Karnataka would be lifting the lockdown in four to five phases if one were to go by the hints thrown in by Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Wednesday.

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Covid-19 has also favoured a graded unlocking in its recommendation to the government. The TAC has recommended a gradual reopening every week or every fortnight, sources said.

The TAC also recommended restricting the movement of people from districts with a high number of positive cases to those districts where cases are low. A complete ban on election rallies and large gatherings are also part of the recommendations.

The state on Wednesday logged 10,959 new cases of COVID-19 and 192 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 27,28,248 and the death toll to 32,291.

The day also saw 20,246 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases.

Of 10,959 new cases reported today, 2,395 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 6,185 discharges and 50 deaths.