Days after ruling out the possibility of a lockdown in Karnataka, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, speaking to the media in Bidar on Monday, said that if the number of COVID-19 cases does not come down in a week’s time, he will consider imposing lockdown or any other measures required. Karnataka has been reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases, as the state recorded 10,250 COVID-19 cases on Sunday including 7,584 cases in Bengaluru.
"Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, we have already implemented night curfew in several districts. If the other districts also report more cases during the week, the government will think of similar measures there too. We will wait for another week. If the situation is not under control, we will think of imposing curfews or other measures required to handle the situation,” said BS Yediyurappa. When a curfew is imposed, the government and police can restrict movement and not allow even essential services like ATMs, grocery stores etc. Only emergency services like hospitals will be allowed to function.
Continuing to place the onus on maintaining safety measures, Yediyurappa urged the people to follow COVID-19 safety protocols. “If people wear masks, continue to sanitize their hands and maintain distance in public, only then will it be manageable. At this time, I believe that we can control the spread of the coronavirus infection. We are testing 1 lakh samples every day and I request all the opposition leaders to help us with it. As for the election, we will have to make sure everyone wears masks and follows the protocols and conduct the polls,” he added.
On Saturday, 6,955 cases were reported in the state and 4,384 in Bengaluru and on Friday, Bengaluru had reported 5,576 COVID-19 cases, the highest in a single day during the pandemic until then. The total number of active cases in the city is now 51,236.
The government has said that the jump in cases was linked to the increased testing numbers in the state going up from 98,000 to 1.32 lakh on Sunday. The positivity rate also increased from 7.04% on Saturday to 7.72% on Sunday. Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of the overall number of people tested.
Meanwhile, from Saturday night, Bengaluru and six other cities in Karnataka have night curfew imposed from 10 pm to 5 am. However, essential services will be allowed through the curfew.