Bengaluru Lockdown: Night curfew, Section 144 till August 16; 141 containment zones in city

Both Karnataka and Bengaluru have a reproduction rate of more than 1, which means one infected person is spreading the virus to more than 1.

The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday extended Covid-19 restrictions such as night curfew and Section 144 as the city is witnessing a gradual increase in the number of Covid cases at a time when Kerala is witnessing an unexpected spike in the number of fresh infections. Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people, has been imposed till August 16, 6am. Night curfew between 10pm and 5am has also been extended until August 16, the order issued by Bengaluru Police said.

Despite the state being at the tipping point, people crowd a market at the Avenue Road in Bengaluru on Sunday. (ANI Photo)

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has 141 micro-containment zones, according to the latest report, which is a significant increase from last week. The authorities are declaring apartments as micro-containment zones where three or more positive cases are being found. Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli and the West divisions of Bengaluru have emerged as Covid hotspots.

Earlier, the government extended the regular restrictions till August 16 and said that a decision on weekend lockdown and night curfew will be taken after reviewing the situation. On Wednesday, the state reported 1,769 positive infections.

The sudden worsening of the Covid-19 situation set off an alarm bell for Karnataka which made negative RT-PCR mandatory for people travelling to the state from Maharashtra and Kerala.

Why Covid-19 cases are rising in Karnataka

The rise of Covid-19 cases in districts bordering Kerala can be directly linked to Kerala's Covid-19 situation. Recent studies have found that Bengaluru too is at the tipping point as the rate at which the infection is spreading is quite high in Bengaluru. Delta variant is another factor that is behind the surge of cases in the state.