Karnataka under lockdown

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday announced a 14-day lockdown that will come into force in the State from 9 pm on Tuesday to curb the spread of Covid-19.

No public transport will be allowed to ply on the roads, but shops selling essential commodities will remain open from 6 am to 10 am every day, Yediyurappa said.

"From Tuesday night for 14 days, there will be a full shutdown in the whole State," Yediyurappa said, after chairing a Cabinet meeting. He said the industries, other than the garment sector, could function during the shutdown. "Bars and restaurants can provide takeaway service," the Chief Minister said.

Yediyurappa indicated that inter-state and intra-state travel, other than movement of goods and cargo, will not be permitted during the shutdown. The government will seek postponement of all polls in the State for six months, he said.

However, people wanting to be vaccinated will be allowed to get their vaccinations, he said.

The Chief Minister also announced free Covid vaccine for all those between 18-44 years of age in the state.

Last on Thursday, Yediyurappa approved the purchase of one crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines at a cost of Rs 400 crore. Karnataka has already been under a semi-lockdown state over the past five days with hotels, restaurants, gyms, bars, clubs not allowed to have customers. The city of Bengaluru has been under a night curfew and a weekend curfew since April 19.

Since the Covid cases were increasing in Karnataka and Bengaluru city, few members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which held a meeting on April 24, had advised the government to impose a two-week lockdown.

According to Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, Karnataka on Sunday recorded 143 more fatalities across the state (77 in Bengaluru Urban alone) due to Covid-19, with which the cumulative death toll rose to 14,426.