COVID-19: Karnataka records whopping 68% rise in cases; 8,449 fresh infections reported

Bengaluru: Karnataka Friday recorded a whopping 68 percent rise in new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The state reported 8,449 fresh cases, up from 5,031 cases Thursday. This is partly because of the largescale testing -- 2,03,260 since Thursday.

The State capital alone accounted for 6,812 of the cases. On Wednesday, the state's cases doubled to 4,246 infections in 24 hours.

The case positivity rate now stands at 4.15 per cent.

The Omicron variant which is driving up cases globally has been detected in 107 people in the state in 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 333 cases of the variant.

Meanwhile, the weekend curfew will come into effect Friday midnight and the state will be under strict lockdown till Monday, even as ministers and commercial establishments questioned the efficacy of such shutdowns. The government has also banned the sale of liquor for two days starting from Friday night.

Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant appealed to people not to venture out unnecessarily. "Please do not go to various places unnecessarily and cooperate with the police for your own safety," Pant told reporters. He said only a set of activities is permitted including essential and medical services.

He added that the police would not issue any passes for people to travel within the city. Pant warned that those violating the COVID-19 norms will face action under the Natural Disaster Management Act (NDMA). The violators will be detained and their vehicles will be seized.