Ahead of New Year’s Day, the Karnataka government has issued a set of guidelines for New Year's Eve celebrations on Monday, December 26. Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar announced that masks will be mandatory in all public places, including bars, pubs, and restaurants, and that parties will be allowed to continue until 1 am on January 1. He further said that only people who have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed inside the venues. “Masks are mandatory in all public places,” he said. Pregnant women, senior citizens and children are prohibited from entering venues hosting New Year’s Eve parties.

Assuring that citizens need not be alarmed, the Health Minister said, “There’s no need to panic, you just have to take precautions. The government is taking proactive measures for the safety of people.” Amid the enforcement of heightened COVID-19 precautions, the Karnataka government held a meeting with experts on Monday to discuss preventive measures and guidelines to be followed during the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

On December 23, the Health Minister had also appealed to the public to take booster doses. "I appeal to the people of Karnataka to take the booster dose at the earliest. People should wear masks, especially in indoor places and maintain social distancing," he said.

On December 22, the state government decided to make face masks mandatory in enclosed settings and ordered that all instances of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI), regardless of whether the patient had symptoms, be tested for the coronavirus. The action was taken in response to a rise in COVID-19 infections caused by the Omicron subvariant BF.7 in many countries.