New Covid-19 guidelines announced by Karnataka government on Tuesday

Bengaluru: As there is a rapid spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, the Karnataka government is taking all the possible stringent measures to contain the spread of the infection.

An all-party meeting was held on Tuesday where some important guidelines were issued which shall be enforced from 9 pm on 21 April and will be in force up to 6 am of 4 May.

The guidelines include a weekend curfew in the entire state from Friday 9 pm to Monday 6 am and the night curfew shall be continued from 9 pm to 6 am.

Places of gathering such as schools, colleges, coaching institutes, yoga centres, cinema halls, amusement parks, theatres etc shall be closed. Swimming pools, stadia and playground are only allowed for sportspersons under training and there shall be no spectators. All religious places shall be closed for public. However, all personnel engaged in the service of the place of worship shall continue to perform the rituals. Restaurants and eateries are permitted to operate and only takeaway option would be available.

All construction activities, civil repair activities are permitted. All industries/ industrial establishments/ production units are permitted to function by following Covid-appropriate behaviour. The movement of staff shall be allowed through valid ID proofs.

All shops such as ration shops are permitted. Wholesale vegetable/fruits/flower markets shall be permitted to operate from open spaces, playgrounds strictly adhering to Covid-19 protocol. Banks, insurance offices and ATM are permitted. Lodging hotels are also permitted with services for guests only. Barbershops/salons/beauty parlour are permitted to function with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol.

All private offices/organisations shall be functional with minimum strength. However, work from home should be encouraged as far as possible. Only essential staff of IT and ITeS companies shall work from office and the rest from home. All government offices/autonomous bodies etc shall function with 50% strength and the rest 50% of the staff shall be deployed for Covid-19 containment and management purpose.

There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit is required for such movements.

Movement of people through public transport shall be permitted but with 50% capacity and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour. Unnecessary travel through private vehicles should be avoided.

There shall be unrestricted movement of all types of goods. All agricultural and allied activities are permitted outside containment zones.  All health services including pharmacies shall remain fully operational.

Marriages are permitted with the strict adherence of Covid Appropriate Behaviour with a maximum of 50 people.

Cremation/funerals shall be allowed with a maximum of 20 people.

Everyone is to follow these guidelines with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol. Anyone violating these measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 besides legal action.