The highest single day count of 592 Covid-19 deaths in Karnataka on Friday showed that clamping curfews was not effective and result oriented steps like a complete 14 day lockdown imposed at the start of the pandemic was necessary, health minister Dr K Sudhakar said. In an order issued today, the BS Yediyurappa government said the lockdown will be from 6 am on May 10 to 6 am on May 25. The movement of essential goods and services are allowed, and shops selling groceries can remain open from 6 am to 6 pm, the government said.
Other services and tasks allowed to continue during the lockdown are road repair work and cargo vehicles. Shops and other commercial units like hotels, pubs, bars and industries that are not directly related to providing essential services will remain shut. Flights and trains already scheduled will operate during the lockdown, the Karnataka government said in the order. Metro rail won't run; cabs not hired for emergency aren't allowed on the roads. Schools and colleges will remain shut, though online learning can continue. The positivity rate or the chances of getting infected in Bengaluru is 40 per cent. The city reported 21,376 cases and 346 deaths in the last 24 hours.