Delhi, Karnataka impose weekend curfew amid surge in Covid cases

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Passengers at Ranchi railway station amid rising cases of Omicron variantof COVID-19 in Ranchi, Sunday, December 26, 2021. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: The spike in Covid cases have prompted state governments to reimpose strict curbs. Delhi and Karnataka on Tuesday imposed a weekend curfew to limit the crowds on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Delhi government announced a weekend curfew and work from home for its offices as the city recorded 5,481 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest number since May 16, with a positivity rate of 8.37 percent and three fatalities.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain, however, asserted that no lockdown was being imposed in the national capital.

Taking to Twitter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal informed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and did not attend the Delhi Disaster Management Authority chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal that took the decisions on the new curbs.

Citing the rise in positivity rate, the city government also directed all private hospitals and nursing homes with 50 beds or more to reserve at least 40 percent of their total bed capacity for coronavirus patients.

Addressing an online media briefing, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that buses and metros will run with full seating capacity daily as long queues were being seen at bus stops and stations which could become "super spreaders" after the capacity had been halved.

Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for COVID-19 management, said that during weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, will be asked to work from home, while private offices will remain open with 50 percent capacity.

During the weekend curfew that will come into force at 10 PM on Friday and will be in place till 5 AM on Monday to tackle a surge in COVID-19 driven by Omicron, all essential services will be allowed in the national capital. The city Tuesday recorded 382 omicron cases while there were 351 cases a day earlier.

Along with weekend curfew, night curfew will also continue to be in place during weekdays.

E-pass will be issued to those engaged in essential services during the weekend curfew, he added.

On December 28, the DDMA had declared a 'yellow alert' after the positivity rate crossed the 0.5 percent mark, and closed down cinemas and gyms.

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health worker collects swab samples of passengers to conduct COVID-19 test, amid concern over rise in Omicron virus variant cases, at the Anand Vihar railway station near New Delhi, Friday. Photo: PTI

K'taka govt imposes weekend curfew

The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to impose weekend curfew and extend the night curfew for two weeks in the state in view of the alarming rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The government also decided to shut schools and pre-university colleges except for 10th and 12th standard students for two weeks.

It announced the weekend curfew and also the decision to extend the night curfew for two weeks in the state.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in which senior ministers including Revenue Minister Ashoka, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, medical experts and senior officials participated.

The meeting was held in view of the sudden jump in number of COVID cases in the state. Karnataka logged 2,479 cases on Tuesday and four fatalities. Since January 1, the city has been logging over 1,000 cases daily.

"We have decided that barring 10th and 12th classes, schools will be shut for rest of the classes in Bengaluru. These COVID rules will come into effect from Wednesday night," Ashoka told reporters.

He said there will be a weekend curfew for two weeks from 10 PM on Friday to 5 AM on Monday. All essential services will continue, he added.

Further, the government decided to extend the night curfew, which ends on January 7, for two weeks.

The Minister also said that there should not be a congregation of more than 200 people in marriages in open places and 100 in marriage halls. There should also be 50 per cent occupancy in pubs, bars, cinema halls and malls and those working in and visiting these places should have taken both doses of the COVID vaccine.

Also, the government decided to make a negative RT-PCR test report mandatory for those coming to the state from Maharashtra, Kerala and Goa, the minister said.

Government offices will have to follow the Government of India guidelines, he explained.

Ashoka told reporters that no rallies or political events with large congregation will be allowed in the city.

Speaking to reporters, Sudhakar said those coming from high-risk nations will be sent for institutional quarantine if they test positive for COVID.

The travellers can choose hotels of their choice to stay in quarantine which can be a budget or a star hotel.

"We cannot send the foreigners home who test positive," Sudhakar said.

Sudhakar said there were discussions about the availability of medicines, hospitals, ICU beds and other necessary arrangements.

He also said that the government decided to treat Bengaluru as a 'state' while dealing with COVID-19 cases.

"We are treating Bengaluru as a state because it has become an epicentre of COVID just like any other metropolitan city. Almost 80 to 90 per cent cases are coming from Bengaluru only in Karnataka," the Health minister explained.

Further, Sudhakar said that teams led by IAS officers have been assigned different roles in COVID management to handle the pandemic at a micro level.

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