E-Paper
Bengaluru civic body allows most shops to operate, mandates at least 1 Covid vaccine dose for workers by Aug 31
Gaurav Gupta, the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said that the commercial establishments must ensure the 100% vaccination of their staff at their own cost and the first dose of the vaccine must be administered to all employees by August 31.
The Bengaluru civic body on Thursday announced that it would allow most of the commercial establishments in the city to operate citing the lowering number of Covid-19 infections in the city, conditional to compliance with Covid appropriate protocols.
Gaurav Gupta, the chief commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said that the commercial establishments must ensure the 100% vaccination of their staff at their own cost. He also said that the first dose of the vaccine must be administered to all employees by August 31.
“To contain virus transmission, commercial establishments, industries, hotels and offices must ensure 100% vaccination of their working staff at employer's cost, along with following Covid protocols. The first dose must be administered by 31st August,” Gupta said in a tweet, as he shared a copy of the government order.
The government said that it was an “established scientific fact” that the risk of Covid-19 transmission is higher in closed spaces and as a measure to contain the spread of the virus, it was essential that the staff in these establishments do not get infected with Covid-19 so that it does not spread to the customers and the public, thus avoiding any further surge in the city.
Also read | Karnataka's new Covid-19 rules offer respite for flyers from these 3 countries
Further, the Karnataka government has also authorised BBMP marshals and health officials in the city to enter the premises of these establishments that are operating to check for their compliance with the vaccination and the protocols from September 1.
To ensure the compliance of all shops, industries, hotels and offices, the state government has also asked the employees in these places to keep the proof of their vaccination at the workplace and produce them “as and when required.” It has also warned of legal actions under the Epidemic Disease Act in case of any violations of the compliance.
BBMP’s decision to resume shops in the city came a day after state health minister K Sudhakar said that more than 10 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were administered so far in Bengaluru. “Bengaluru crossed 1 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday. A big applause to all those involved in this #LargestVaccinationDrive,” he tweeted earlier on Thursday.
Meanwhile, total confirmed infections in the state reached 2,943,463 cases and the death toll stood at 37,231 on Thursday after 1,213 people tested positive for the disease and 25 more lost their lives, a bulletin from the state government showed.
