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Cinema halls, colleges set to reopen in Karnataka today
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Sunday announced further relaxation to the lockdown rules in the state from Monday
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Sunday announced further relaxation to the lockdown rules in the state from Monday. Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said the relaxations were made since there is gradual improvement in the Covid-19 situation in the state. In the new set of relaxations, the government has allowed theatres and higher education institutes to reopen while the duration of the night curfew has been reduced by an hour.
“The Covid-19 situation in the state has again been reviewed and it has been observed that a number of active cases as well as case positivity rate have been consistently declining. The health experts have suggested opening up few more activities with focused public health measures and strict adherence to Covid 19 appropriate behaviour,” read the government order.
These decisions were made after a meeting chaired by the chief minister along with top ministers and bureaucrats on Sunday morning. Karnataka had gone for full lockdown starting April 28, which are being relaxed in multiple phases.
The new relaxations would be applicable for the entire state, except Kodagu district and it will come into effect from 6 am on Monday.
As per the new guidelines, the night curfew will be imposed from 10 pm to 5 am in the state as against the existing timing of 9 pm to 5 am . The new timings will allow restaurants and pubs, which had reopened during the last relaxation, to remain open till 10 pm.
The government has also allowed the reopening of cinema halls, multiplexes, theatres, rangamandiras, auditoriums and similar places of entertainment. However, they will be allowed to operate at only 50% seating capacity and strictly adhering to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and SOPs issued by the concerned departments.
Karnataka on July 8 had ordered a complete waiver of property tax on single-screen theatres for financial year 2021-22, after the Karnataka State Film Exhibitors Association (KSFEA) submitted a detailed memorandum to Yediyurappa, citing the problems faced by the industry during the lockdown.
In the third main change, the government has allowed the reopening of colleges and institutions pertaining to the Department of Higher Education from July 26. “Only students, teaching and non-teaching or other staff who have taken at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be permitted to attend the colleges/institutions. Attendance of students will be optional,” read the government order.
It also added that all skill development training including long term technical courses are permitted while strictly adhering to Covid appropriate behaviour. Even in these institutes only students, teaching and non-teaching staff, who have taken at least one dose of the vaccine will be permitted to attend the institutions.
Earlier on Friday, the state government had allowed the reopening of medical, dental colleges and allied healthcare academic institutions. “It has been decided to allow the reopening of all medical, dental, AYUSH and other allied healthcare educational institutions in the state with immediate effect,” Karnataka health minister K. Sudhakar had tweeted.
On Friday, the government had also announced the commencement of training for doctors and paramedics across the state to tackle the potential third wave of Covid-19. “The state health department will conduct training sessions for doctors and paramedical staff in district hospitals across the state for preparing them to fight the pandemic’s possible third wave,” the health minister told reporters on Friday.
The state government also hired about 4,000 doctors and ramped up the healthcare infrastructure during the pandemic’s second wave to contain the virus. “Measures are being taken as recommended by the expert committee headed by noted cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty to minimise the impact of the third wave on people. As our state shares borders with Kerala and Maharashtra, where positive cases continue to remain high, safety measures have been taken to prevent the infection from spreading in the districts,” Sudhakar added.
