Karnataka will be placed under a seven-hour night curfew from Tuesday for 10 days amid a rise in the cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has been spreading across the country.
"From December 28 onwards, for 10 days (till January 7 morning) to begin with, we would like to observe by calling a night curfew, from night 10pm to the next morning 5am… So there won't be any activities post 10pm during these days," state health minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Sunday.
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According to an official order, during the night curfew, movement of individuals will remain strictly prohibited, except for essential activities, patients and their attendants, industries and companies requiring night operations, vehicles carrying goods, bus, trains, Metro, air travel, home delivery and e-commerce operations, among others.
People working on night shifts will be allowed to move during the curfew with a valid ID card. Movement of passengers for travel through trains, buses and flights will be allowed on displaying valid travel documents or tickets.
{{/usCountry}}People working on night shifts will be allowed to move during the curfew with a valid ID card. Movement of passengers for travel through trains, buses and flights will be allowed on displaying valid travel documents or tickets.
{{/usCountry}}The Karnataka government also said in its order that only essential staff or employees of IT and ITeS companies shall work from the office and the rest can work from home.
Apart from the curfew, the state government has also banned New Year celebrations and gatherings in public places. On the other hand, hotels, pubs, clubs and restaurants have been asked to operate with 50 per cent seating capacity from December 30 to January 2.
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"There will be no functions or parties in the external premises, especially for those celebrating with DJs and large gatherings. They have been completely banned in Karnataka," health minister Dr Sudhakar also said on Sunday.
A day before the 10-day night curfew came into force, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday that the restriction was imposed in the interest of public health.
“Night curfew has been imposed in the state in the interest of public health,” Bommai told reporters on Monday.
Till now, Karnataka has recorded 31 cases of the Omicron variant of which 15 patients have recovered. Karnataka is the eighth worst-hit state from the variant across India.
(With agency inputs)