Breaking: Karnataka Relaxes Lockdown in 16 Districts; Shops, Restaurants to Open Till 5 PM | Full List of Guidelines Here

Bengaluru: 19 June 2021 : The Karnataka government on Saturday announced further relaxation in the ongoing lockdown in the state and allowed the shops and hotels, clubs, restaurants to operate till 5 PM daily. Issuing unlock guidelines, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa relaxed restrictions in 16 districts. “The lodges, resorts, gyms, private offices can operate with 50% capacity in 16 districts that have less than 5% positivity,” the chief minister said. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar had restricted large gatherings on International Day of Yoga, saying no large programme or event will be held on the occasion of International Day of Yoga on June 21 in Karnataka. He also added that the chief minister will perform Yoga at home and all should also perform it at homes. Karnataka on Saturday recorded 5815 new cases, 11,832 discharges and 161 deaths. The active case tally in the state stands at 1,30,872. Earlier, BS Yediyurappa had said that a decision on further relaxing lockdown restrictions in the state after June 21 will be taken on Saturday. “The situation is improving. There is also a possibility of a third wave in the future, but despite that we will have to give some relaxations. We will discuss it at a meeting tomorrow evening, and take a decision,” Yediyurappa had said on Friday. The government had last week issued fresh guidelines extending the COVID induced lockdown in 11 districts, which have a high positivity rate, till June 21, where citizens were allowed to buy essentials between 6 am and 10 am. The Karnataka government had initially announced 14 days ‘close-down’ from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to May 24, as the COVID cases continued to spike. (Source: India.com)