Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on April 26 announced that a 'covid curfew' will be implemented in the entire state including Bengaluru. The curfew will come into force from April 27, night 9 pm, and will be in force for the next 14 days.
All essential shops will be functioning from 6am to 10 am, after which all shops will close.
"Only construction, manufacturing & agriculture sectors allowed. Public transport to remain shut", said Karnataka CM, as reported by ANI.
Karnataka is the latest region to enter a lockdown after similar curbs in many parts of India, which is battling a massive second wave of infections that has pressured its health system. Bengaluru, a city of 12 million, reported more than 20,000 new infections on Sunday, its highest single-day tally so far and second only to the capital, Delhi.
Separate guidelines for the lockdown will be issued by the government later in the day.
Since the Covid cases were increasing in Karnataka and Bengaluru city, few members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which held a meeting on April 24, had advised the government to impose a two-week lockdown.