Lockdown extended until June 21 in 11 districts of Karnataka, curbs to be eased partially in 19 other districts and Bengaluru from June 14

Karnatka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa (left) and State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai address a press conference on COVID-19 lockdown, in Bengaluru on June 10.

The lockdown in place in Karnataka until June 14 has been extended without relaxation in 11 districts of the State for a week until the morning of June 21. The lockdown will be partially relaxed in the rest of the State including Bengaluru city. These latest set of measures were announced by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa at a press conference on June 10. The 11 districts where no relaxations will be allowed are: Belagavi, Chikkamaggaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Mysuru, Mandya, Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Davanagere, Chamarajanagar and Bengaluru Rural. These districts continue to report a positivity rate of more than five per cent.

As part of the first phase of relaxation in Bengaluru and 19 other districts, industrial units will now be allowed to function with 50 per cent of their employees while stores selling essential commodities can now be opened between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Public parks will also be opened from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Street vendors have been allowed to operate from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. In a relief to auto and cab drivers, who have been severely hit by lockdowns, two passengers will be allowed in their vehicles. Night curfew will continue from 7 p.m. till 5 a.m. next morning while a full curfew will be in place over the weekend.

The 11 districts where the lockdown will continue without any relaxation have worryingly high COVID-19 positivity rates. Chikkamaggaluru, for instance, has the highest positivity rate of 24.62 per cent while Davanagere (21.08 per cent), Mysuru (19.94 per cent), Chamarajanagar (19.49 per cent), Hassan (18.51 per cent), and Dakshina Kannada (18.42 per cent) also continue to have a high positivity rate.