Night curfew in Karnataka for 10 days from December 28

The curfew will be from 10 pm to 5 am

Karnataka announced Sunday a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am for 10 days starting December 28.

Health and Family Welfare Minister K Sudhakar said that all public gatherings for new year celebrations will be prohibited. "Only 50 per cent occupancy in hotels will be allowed," he added. The rule will apply to pubs and restaurants also.

"Every activity after 10 pm will be curbed," he said. However, there will be no restrictions on movement of public transport services and goods.

The decision was following a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with ministers, senior officials and experts on the spread of the Omicron variant. "Based on the situation in the next 10 days, the government will review whether additional curbs are necessary," he said.

According to guidelines issued, all gatherings including marriages, meetings, conferences etc from December 28 should strictly limit the number of participants to 300. Patrolling and surveillance at all border districts adjoining Maharastra and Kerala state will be intensified.

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The movement of individuals will remain strictly prohibited, save in some cases. "Patients and their attendants requiring emergency need for movement shall be allowed" along with employees of industries and companies which require operations at night.

There will be no prohibition for the movement of employees and vehicles of telecom and internet service providers, essential staff of IT and ITeS companies and employees of medical, emergency and other essential services.

Movement of all types of goods, home delivery of goods and operations of e-commerce companies are allowed. Movement of buses, trains, metro and air travel is permitted, according to the guidelines.

Commenting on vaccination in the state, Sudhakar said that first dose coverage was at 97 per cent, while second dose coverage was 75 per cent. "As many as 45 lakh people are yet to get the second dose and have surpassed the due date of vaccination. These people should understand that Omicron is spreading at a very fast pace and get fully vaccinated," he said.

The meeting also discussed the preparations of the Health Department in case the variant spread at a faster pace. "The department will add 3,191 ICU beds to the existing 4,000 ICU beds. The number of oxygenated beds with the government was around 30,000," he said.

Preventive doses will be administered from January 10 to those above 60 and co-morbidities along with healthcare and frontline workers, he said. In the first phase of vaccination for those between 15-18 years of age, around 43 lakh children will benefit.

The government will also procure equipment for early detection of the Omicron variant, Sudhakar added.

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