Bengaluru, Jan 29: With the third wave of Covid-19 receding, Karnataka decided Saturday to remove most of the curbs, including revoking the daily night curfew and allowing schools to resume physical classes.
“We have good news for the public. From January 31, there won’t be a night curfew,” Revenue Minister R Ashoka said, briefing reporters after a meeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chaired with experts.
The government also decided to remove the 50 per cent seating limitation on pubs, restaurants, hotels and eateries. “They are now 100 per cent open,” Ashoka said. This was a demand from hotels who asked the government for relief from their business point-of-view.
Primary & Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh said schools in the Bengaluru Urban district can start physical classes for classes 1 to 9 from Monday. “Physical classes from 1 to 9 were stopped due to the third wave. From Monday, all classes will open in compliance with Covid-appropriate behaviour,” he said.
The standard operating procedure in Bengaluru will be the same as the other districts. “If any positive case is found, only that particular class will be closed, not the entire school. All kids in that class will be tested. Depending on the total number of positive cases, the deputy commissioner will decide on how long a school should be closed - three or five days,” Nagesh explained.
Even degree colleges will open in Bengaluru.
The decisions are based on data and trends that experts laid out before the government.
“The total number of cases across all ages is 4.02 lakh. Of them, cases of children aged 0-14 are 22,318. That’s 5.5 per cent of total cases. The total number of hospitalsed cases is 6,732, which is 1.6 per cent. Of them, children in hospital are 401, or 1.8 per cent. Total deaths are 146, which is 0.03 per cent. The positivity rate has dropped to 20.9 per cent from a peak of 33%,” Ashoka said.
The 50 per cent capacity rule will continue in theatres and multiplexes where Ashoka said people sit for hours together in an enclosed space. Likewise, the 50 per cent rule has been retained for swimming pools, gyms, sports complexes and stadia.
The government further increased the cap on the number of guests at functions like marriages. “For marriages, we’re increasing the cap on guests from 200 to 300 in an open space, and from 100 to 200 in a closed space,” Ashoka said.
In places of religious worship, the existing rule allowing only 50 people inside at a time will continue. “We are allowing resumption of sevas,” Ashoka said.
All fairs, rallies, dharnas, protests, social/religious gatherings remain prohibited.
Government offices that were asked to function at 50 per cent strength will return to full attendance, Ashoka said.
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