Karnataka to allow only fully vaccinated people in public spaces amid Omicron scare
On Friday, Karnataka and Bengaluru reported 413 and 212 new cases, taking the active caseload to 6,896 and 5,049 in the state and city, respectively, according to the government bulletin.
The Karnataka government on Friday announced that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed in public spaces like theatres and cinema halls, as fresh restrictions were announced to contain the growing threat of the new variant of novel coronavirus, Omicron.
“The entry to malls, cinema halls/theatres shall be allowed only to the persons who are vaccinated with two dates of Covid-19 vaccine,” R Ashok, Karnataka’s minister for revenue said on Friday in Bengaluru.
The minister added that parents of children below 18 years will have to “mandatorily be vaccinated” in order for their wards to attend physical classes.
“It is reiterated that there shall be strict implementation of a five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and enforcing adherence to COVID-appropriate behaviour,” according to the state’s new guidelines, which came into effect from Friday evening.
The statements come a day after the Union government confirmed the first two known cases of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Karnataka. Two cases of Omicron have been found positive in a 66-year-old man and a 46-year-old man.
The fresh restrictions have raised apprehensions in the southern state where unverified WhatsApp forwards of a possible lockdown have been doing the rounds.
Cabinet ministers have taken turns to give their views on the lockdown and its possible implementation in front of media cameras, adding to the confusion and apprehension of the population.
The state government, meanwhile, reiterated that all events in schools and other public places have to be put off at least until January 15, 2022. However, the government said the winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi, about 500 km from Bengaluru, will start as per the schedule on December 13.
“The cultural activities/fests and functions in all educational institutions should be postponed till 15th January 2022. Compulsory testing of health workers, old persons above 65 years and persons with comorbidities will be undertaken by the government,” according to the guidelines issued by the state government.
The new guidelines also said that gatherings in marriages will be limited to below 500. All government officials have been asked to get fully vaccinated.
“There shall be intensive containment (micro containment measures) and active surveillance in clusters/area reporting higher cases to contain the spread locally,” according to the government.
According to health officials, the state government has been trying to increase its Covid-19 vaccination coverage to help reduce the impact of a possible third wave in the state.
According to government data, coverage for the second dose in the state has increased to 62% while 92% eligible population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A total of 75 million doses of vaccine have been administered till date, data said.
On Friday, Karnataka and Bengaluru reported 413 and 212 new cases, taking the active caseload to 6,896 and 5,049 in the state and city, respectively, according to the government bulletin.
Four more people died in a 24 hour period due to Covid- 19 which takes the toll to 38,220 so far.
The state has already put in place strict guidelines, including mandatory negative RT-PCR test not more than 48 hours, for people coming in from Kerala and Maharashtra. The government also made testing mandatory for all international passengers at Bengaluru and other airports in the state.
Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka’s minister for higher education and information technology, on Friday said several countries have implemented such restrictions. “Many countries have put some restrictions for unvaccinated people in public spaces like malls, cinema halls, schools, colleges and offices,” Narayana said.
Meanwhile, health experts sounded caution over gatherings at election campaigning ahead of the polls for the state legislative council on December 10.
