Karnataka lifts weekend curfew; malls, places of worship to reopen from Monday

Public transport, including metro, will begin operations with full seating capacity, malls will reopen and offices will be allowed to function at full working strength from Monday.

Announcing Unlock 3.0 on Saturday, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the government decided to further relax the existing Covid-19 restrictions based on expert recommendations. These relaxations will be in effect from July 5 to July 19, he said. While the night curfew will continue on weekdays between 9 pm and 5 am, the weekend curfew has been lifted. Until now, the government had imposed a curfew from 7 pm on Friday to 5 am on Monday.

Relaxing the existing restrictions imposed on weddings and other family functions, the government has allowed up to 100 guests for these events. There was a limit of 40 guests until now. For cremation, up to 20 people can gather, Yediyurappa said.

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The government has also allowed places of worship to open from Monday. "Temples will be open only for Darshan. No other special Seva will be permitted," he said. Sports complexes, stadia and swimming pools will be open only for training purposes.

However, theatres, cinema halls and pubs will remain closed. All education institutions will remain closed too, until further directions. "We will hold a separate meeting to discuss this issue," Yediyurappa said.

The DCs will have the prerogative to impose any restriction as they deem fit depending on the situation in their respective districts, the Chief Minister added.

The government will review all the relaxations after a fortnight. If the public does not cooperate and if Covid precautions are not followed in public places, the government will roll back the relaxations and impose restrictions again, Yediyurappa said, urging people in the state to cooperate.