As COVID-19 cases rise, several parts of India are mulling fresh restrictions. Some areas such as Amravati in Maharashtra have gone into a lockdown reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. In other areas, officials have imposed night curfews, halted public events and gathering and more. With Kerala and Maharashtra showing a massive spike in cases, the state sandwiched in between certainly has cause for concern.
Karnataka is presently keeping a high vigil in districts bordering Maharashtra and Kerala where cases are on the rise. Presently, those trying to enter Karnataka from these two states will have to first produce a RT-PCR negative certificate.
While Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar had reportedly said that there would be no fresh lockdown based on the present scenario, officials remain cautious. As per an All India Radio update on Monday, the Minister had expressed concern over the fact that people attending large gatherings were not following COVID-19 guidelines.
A total of 317 new Covid cases were reported in a day across Karnataka even as 287 patients were discharged on recovery, said the state health bulletin on Monday.
In Bengaluru the situation is somewhat different. There are several hundred cases being recorded on a daily basis, and as per reports, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad is already mulling the prospect of a fresh lockdown. This will however go into effect only if people continue to flout restrictions and ignore social distancing norms and as a result, the case tally continues to rise.
"Already, Maharashtra is mulling a second round of lockdown in select cities. Andhra Pradesh has re-enforced lockdown in Amaravati... we should not reach such a stage. We, therefore, need to pull ourselves up to meet this new challenge," the Municipal Commissioner was quoted as saying.
In less than 10 days, there have been three COVID-19 clusters found in Bengaluru. According to a statement on Monday from civic body Commissioner, N. Manjunath Prasad, 10 cases had been reported from a multi-block apartment in Ambalipura at Bellandur of Mahadevpura Zone.
This apartment complex comprises nine blocks housing 1,500 people. Based on the findings, six contagious blocks have been declared a containment zone by the Bengaluru civic body, while other three blocks are 200 metres away and have not reported any case among their residents.
(With inputs from agency)
