BackKarnataka lockdown: State may begin phase-wise unlocking from 7 Jun, hints Dy CM
Karnataka Deputy CM said, Unlock is guarantee, after June 7...how to do it is the question, there are no plans of doing it at onceHealth Minister K Sudhakar said COVID committee said that the curbs can be relaxed after daily fresh cases are below 5,000
PremiumKarnataka government will begin to ease the COVID-induced restrictions in the state from June 7, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday asserted that it is a 'guarantee', as quoted by news agency PTI. Several state and UT governments including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi have started the unlocking process owing to the significant drop in the number of coronavirus cases.
Narayan said on Tuesday, "Let's see, whether unlocking should be done at once or in a phased manner is the question. Unlock is guarantee, after June 7...how to do it is the question, there are no plans of doing it at once, it may be in a phased manner."
He further added, government is gathering opinion from experts and others and a decision will be taken after considering all aspects.
The comment comes on the day the active tally in the state falls below the three-lakh mark.
TAC suggested to relax curbs only after daily fresh cases are below 5,000
Hinting that unlocking process will start in the phased manner, Health Minister K Sudhakar, said that the state's COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has suggested that the curbs can be relaxed only after daily fresh cases are below 5,000.
Sudhakar said, "They (TAC) have said the (positivity) rate has to come below 5 per cent and number of cases (fresh) should be below 5,000, only then the restrictions can be relaxed and until then the strict measures that are in place should be continued."
The Health Minister said that he has submitted the TAC's report to the Chief Minister and discussed it. "The CM has said that whenever we go for unlocking, it should also be in a staggered manner."
"If unlocking is done it should be in a phased manner and it cannot be done at once, because the decline is not to the level of our expectations or to that of the TAC, though cases have come down, it is still not below 5 per cent," he said.
In several districts as the numbers are still a bit more, we will have to be cautious," he added.
The Karnataka government had initially announced 14 days "closedown" from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to May 24, as the COVID cases continued to spike. Citing lockdown yielding results and experts advice, it was further extended till June 7.
The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka fell below the three lakh mark, as the state on Tuesday reported a further decline in fresh infections at 14,304 and 464 fatalities.
While the total number of cases stood at 26,18,735, the toll was 29,554. The day also saw 29,271 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases.
The total number of active cases is 2,98,299. While the positivity rate stood at 12.30 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 3.24 per cent, the health bulletin said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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