Karnataka govt imposes night curfew from 23 Dec to 2 Jan to contain new COVID-19 strain

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday said the state government has decided to impose night curfew from 23 December night till 2 January across the state aimed at containing the new COVID-19 strain. The chief minister made the announcement following a meeting with Health Minister K Sudhakar, members of the state Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for COVID-19 and senior officials. Addressing reporters, he said, “In view of the new strain of the COVID-19 virus and as per the advice of the Government of India and Technical Advisory Committee, it is decided to impose night curfew from today till 2 January, 2021, between 10 pm and 6 am.” “It will be applicable for the entire state. I request all public to cooperate to prevent and contain the new COVID-19 strain.” Earlier in the day Sudhakar had held a detailed discussion with the TAC members consisting of senior health experts in the state. Neighboring Maharashtra on Monday had declared a night curfew in municipal corporation areas as a precautionary step amid growing concerns over a new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain. Yediyurappa said those travelling to the state from foreign countries must have COVID-19 certificate and the test should have been done only 72 hours before. All arrangements have been done at the airport to conduct tests and health staff have been deployed there and we have seen that no one enters the city without getting tested. Responding to a question the chief minister said all activities will go on as usual between 6 am to 10 pm and no one should come out after 10 pm. He said a guideline will be issued soon in this regard. Regarding schools and colleges we have discussed and informed that it will open from 1 January for Class 10 and second year PUC (Class 12) students, he said, adding “within two days we will see if there are any developments and come back. As of now it will start from 1 January.” The state government has announced regular classes for Class 10, second pre-university and Vidyagama programme for government school students from Class 6 to 9 from 1 January. Vidyagama scheme is aimed at taking school education to the door steps of students in rural areas who cannot afford to attend online classes due to various reasons. Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said holding regular classes was not a matter of prestige for him but an obligation of his department to ensure that everyone gets education. “From 1 January, classes will resume. There have been speculations for the past two days, but whatever programmes we have planned from 1 January will go on,” he told reporters in Bengaluru after a meeting with the officials. There is no hard and fast rule to attend the regular classes, said Kumar, adding if the parents and students are comfortable with the online classes they can study from home. He recalled the Karnataka High Court’s query to the government as to why regular classes cannot take place for other grades as well. Suresh Kumar quoted Union Health Minister Dr HarshVardhan who had said that there was no need for anyone to panic but insisted upon taking all necessary precautions. “Our state has enough strength and arrangements to face the challenges that we may face in the coming days,” Kumar said. He added that his department will abide by the suggestions given by our Technical Advisory Committee members. The primary and secondary schools and pre-university colleges are shut since the COVID-19 lockdown in March.