Karnataka wears a deserted look amid Sunday lockdown to check Covid-19 surge

As of Sunday, as per the data released by the health ministry, Karnataka has registered over 59,000 coronavirus cases and is nearing the 60,000 mark.

Streets across Karnataka bore a deserted look on Sunday as the state observed a complete lockdown today in a bid to control the rise in coronavirus infections. The state government decided to impose a full day lockdown every Sunday from July 5 till August 2 to tackle the rising cases of Covid-19 in the state.

Karnataka observes a full-day Covid-19 lockdown on Sunday. (ANI)

Karnataka is the fourth worst-affected state in the country after Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. It has more number of active cases than the national capital which has reported over 80 percent recovery rate. As of Sunday, as per the data released by the health ministry, Karnataka has registered over 59,000 coronavirus cases and is nearing the 60,000 mark. The death toll here stands at 1,240 while 21,775 people have recovered from the disease.

A major chunk of the infections come from capital city Bengaluru where nearly 30,000 people have contracted the disease.

State minister for Medical Education K Sudhakar said there was no community transmission of the pandemic, adding if it were to be the case, the number of infections would be running into ‘lakhs.’

“As you know, Bengaluru is a cosmopolitan city. So from every nook and corner people came here. When they came they were not mindful of what they were supposed to do (health precautions, apparently) and they spread the infection,” he told news agency PTI.

“I am not washing away the government’s role. The government can do every bit to contain, to treat them, but citizens should cooperate. Society should actively come forward in controlling this pandemic,” he pointed out.

(With inputs from PTI)