Karnataka Lifts Night Curfew, Schools in Bengaluru To Open From Jan 31. Guidelines Here

Cinema halls and multiplexes have been allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity, marriages can be held with up to 300 people in open venues and 200 in closed spaces.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to relax Covid norms amid a drop in new cases.  The government on Saturday announced that it will lift night curfew and other restrictions based on the report of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). The government has also allowed schools to operate offline for classes 1-9 in Bengaluru city.

Speaking to the media, Revenue Minister R Ashok said the night curfew has been withdrawn from January 31 owing to the increase in recovery rate. “The recovery rates are increasing and the severity is less this time. Public transport, pubs, restaurants, government offices can operate at full seating capacity,” he said.

Cinema halls and multiplexes have been allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity, marriages can be held with up to 300 people in open venues and 200 in closed spaces. He added that religious places will be opened for daily rituals and the public will be allowed in as per Covid protocol. Swimming pools, gyms and sports stadiums can operate at 50 per cent capacity.

Karnataka Covid Restrictions: Full Guidelines

1. Gyms will continue with 50% capacity.
2. Bars, hotels, have been allowed to open.
3. Govt offices to work with 100% capacity.
4. Offering prayers in the temples also allowed.
5. Protest, sit-ins, religious congregations, political programs are prohibited
6. Schools in Bengaluru to open from Monday.
7. Night curfew to be lifted from Jan 31
8. Marriage functions are permitted with 200 members indoors and 300 outdoors
9. Darshan and service will be allowed in religious places at 50% capacity
10. Swimming pool and gym at 50% capacity.
11. Sports complexes and stadiums allowed to open at 50% capacity

Karnataka has remained one of the worst-hit states in all the first, second and third waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the ongoing third wave too, Bengaluru’s single-day Covid tally rose as high as 30,000. On Friday, Karnataka recorded 31,198 fresh cases with Bengaluru contributing 15,199 cases.

As the third wave of the pandemic has now shifted to the southern states, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday conducted a high-level meeting with the health ministers of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Given the situation, the government has decided to go for more reopening, a week after it became the first state to ease the curbs as it withdrew the weekend curfew. Experts are of the opinion that schools should resume physical classes as students are bearing the brunt of online classes going on for almost two years now, intermittently.