Karnataka eases COVID-19 curbs from today, public transport to operate at 50%- Check guidelines here

Karnataka government on Saturday announced further easing of COVID-induced lockdown curbs in 19 of 31 districts from Monday. The weekend curfew will remain in place from Friday 7 pm to Monday 5 am.

New Delhi: The Karnataka government on Saturday (June 19, 2021) announced further easing of COVID-induced lockdown curbs in 19 of 31 districts from Monday (June 21, 2021). The state government’s decision came in view of the positivity rate falling below 5-10 percent in over 13 districts.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that all shops and hotels, clubs, restaurants allowed to operate till 5 pm, adding that lodges, resorts, gyms, private offices will also be allowed to operate with 50 percent capacity in 16 districts that have less than 5 percent COVID-19 positivity. 

These relaxations will be in place from June 21 to July 5.

Rules applicable in the entire State : 

Everyday night curfew from 7.00 pm to 5.am. 

Buses can operate with upto 50% seating capacity.

Weekend curfew from Friday night 7.00 pm to Monday 5.00 am. 

Public transport services to operate with 50 percent capacity:

The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) have released separate statements and appealed the passengers to strictly follow the COVID-19 protocols.

The KSRTC said that a fleet of 3,000 buses initially will resume their operations from Monday.

"As of now, we will not operate interstate services but we will start operating across Karnataka except for Mysuru but with only 50 percent seating capacity," KSRTC said in its statement.

"We will take a decision on resuming inter-state operations after studying various factors in the days to come," it added.

The BMTC, which is considered to be the lifeline of Bengaluru, said that it will resume operations with 2,000 buses on Monday from 6 am to 7 pm on major traffic routes.

Bengaluru metro services resume: 

Following chief minister BS Yediyurappa's announcement, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited on Saturday had said that Namma metro services will be resumed in the city from Monday (June 21, 2021). However, the metro services will be shut on weekends owing to the weekend curfew still imposed in the state and the capital city.

Lockdown extended in Dakshina Kannada district

On the other hand, the ongoing lockdown in Dakshina Kannada district has been extended till 5 July as COVID-19 cases do not see a decline. Currently Dakshina Kannada district is one of the major COVID hotspots in the southern state. However, the extended COVID-induced lockdown will allow certain relaxations like essential commodities' shops to open from 7 am to 1 pm.

Meanwhile, Karnataka's COVID-19 cases dropped below the 5,000-mark on Sunday (June 20, 2021) after a gap of two-and-a-half months, health officials said. The state has reported 4,517 fresh infections and 120 fatalities in the last 24 hours.