COVID-19: Lockdown extended in Karnataka till June 14, existing restrictions to continue

Karnataka has extended its ongoing lockdown till June 14. The restrictions will be in force till 6 am till the said date. Under the lockdown, essential stores are functional from 6 am to 10 am, and the movement of people has been restricted except for emergencies and vaccination purposes. The time period for essential services will be from 6 am to 10 am. BS Yediyurappa also announced that after 10 am all shops will close. Only construction, manufacturing & agriculture sectors will be allowed. Public transport will also remain shut. The Chief Minister yesterday said COVID-19 cases are high in rural areas and any move to ease the lockdown would have to be carefully worked out.

The state's Covid technical advisory committee in a report to the government has said positivity rate has to come below 5 per cent and the number of cases should be below 5,000, and only then the restrictions may be eased. He announced cash relief to different groups including film and TV industry workers, fishing community, ASHA and anganwadi workers, weavers, and people working in places of worship. Karnataka initially announced 14-day "close down" from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to 24 as Covid cases continued to rise. Meanwhile, the death toll due to COVID-19 in Karnataka crossed 30,000, as the state on Wednesday reported 463 fatalities and 16,387 new cases, taking the total number of infections to 26,35,122, the health department said.