Karnataka govt lifts weekend curbs, night curfew to continue

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday decided to lift the weekend curfew that was in place with an aim to control the spread of COVID-19 infections. However, the night curfew hours between 10 pm to 5 am every day will continue.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai held a meeting with experts, senior ministers and officials of his government to assess the COVID-19 situation in the state and curbs that were in place to control its spread.

"The weekend curfew on Saturday and Sunday is being lifted. This decision has been taken based on the experts' report and is subject to conditions. Now, the rate of hospitalisation is about 5 per cent. In case it increases, we will re-impose the weekend curfew," Revenue Minister R Ashoka said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he appealed to people not to allow weekend curfew to be put in place again by urging them to follow COVID guidelines and precautionary measures.

"There has been demand from people, various organisations and political leaders from across party lines to lift the weekend curfew, but we have taken this decision based on experts' reports. However, the night curfew between 10 pm to 5 am every day will continue, along with a 50 per cent occupancy rule among others," he added.

With a surge in cases, the government had last week decided to extend the existing COVID curbs such as night curfew and the weekend curfew till the end of January. The minister further said the restrictions on protests, rallies, fairs and events will continue.