Karnataka imposes night curfew for 10 days, bans New Year gatherings amid fears over Omicron

Bengaluru | Jagran News Desk: The Karnataka government on Sunday imposed a 10-day night curfew across the state starting from December 28 amid fears over the Omicron variant of COVID-19 that is considered to be more infectious than the Delta strain. In a statement, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the night curfew will begin at 10 pm and continue till 5 am.

Besides night curfew, Dr Sudhakar also announced that the state government has decided to ban all New Year gatherings and celebrations in Karnataka. He also said that restaurants, hotels, pubs and eateries in Karnataka can only operate at 50 per cent seating capacity, noting that appropriate COVID-19 norms must be followed.

"From December 28 onwards, for about ten days, to begin with, we would like to watch by calling a night curfew, invoking Section 144, from night 10 pm to the next morning 5 am," he said, as reported by a leading English news channel. "There will be no functions, parties in the external premises, especially for those celebrating with DJs and large gatherings, they have been completely banned in Karnataka."

Speaking about the vaccination status in Karnataka, the Health Minister said that 75 per cent of the eligible population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Noting that the state government is planning to increase the pace of the drive, he appealed to people to follow the COVID-induced guidelines as Omicron continues to spread across India.

"The administration of preventive dose will start from 10 January for those with comorbidities and above 60 years of age," news agency ANI quoted Dr Sudhakar as saying. "Vaccination will start for kids from 15 to 18 years of age in the state from 3 January. A total of 43 lakh kids will be given vaccination."

Karnataka on Saturday reported 270 fresh COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Out of the new infections, seven cases are of Omicron. Currently, the state's cumulative case tally has increased to 30.04 lakh, out of over 7,200 are  active cases.