Negative Covid test report is mandatory for inter-state travellers

Bengaluru: On Saturday, Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai said that a negative Covid test report is mandatory for the travellers who are coming into the state. He said, “We have barricaded not only major roads but also the minor ones as was done last time.”

“We have imposed restrictions, especially in the border districts such as Belagavi, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Anekal in Bengaluru (bordering Tamil Nadu) and near Mangaluru (bordering Kerala)”, he said.

The minister stated that as told by the Centre, a negative Covid test report is compulsory for the inter-state travellers to enter Karnataka.

He said that he had told the district authorities, including the police to impose strict lockdown in the districts to prevent the spread of the infection.  He urged the people to follow the rules. In the meantime, Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant posted on his Twitter account that they got the orders to take legal actions such as booking case and seizing vehicles of those who violate the lockdown guidelines.

On Friday, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa declared the extension of lockdown till June 7. It was supposed to end on May 24.

Even though the state had imposed restrictions from April 27, the stringent restrictions were imposed on May 10 for two weeks. But, as the cases were increasing at an alarming rate and were putting pressure on hospitals, doctors and paramedical staffs, the government extended it for two more weeks. The State, on Saturday, witnessed 32,218 fresh Covid cases and 353 deaths. The active cases stood at 5,14,238.