More on Covid-19

BENGALURU: Taking stock of the growing Covid-19 pandemic in Karnataka, the state government on Sunday took the drastic measure of sealing all state borders by sea and road.While the ports were already shut, the roads were on Sunday sealed after chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced the same.Effectively, according to ministers on the Covid-19 special task force, the state has sealed the entry and exit of people’s movement with Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.While four of the six states bordering Karnataka had already closed their borders, AP and Telangana had continued to keep their state jurisdictions open for Karnataka citizens to enter and exit.But this has been stopped now, with Karnataka sealing its borders.“I appeal to the people to cooperate with the government for ensuring a peaceful closure of the borders,” said Yediyurappa after the ministerial task force met on Sunday evening.Later in the day, the government extended prohibitory orders (section 144) till 12pm on Sunday.Home minister Basavaraj Bommai said the intentions of the government is to ensure that people do not rush out and overcrowd public places.Meanwhile, within the state, the government has decided to shut down nine districts— hotspots for the spread of the global pandemic— with suspension of public transport services and commercial activities till March 31.The nine districts include Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapura , Mangaluru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi , Dharwad, Kodagu and Belagavi.Home minister Basavaraj Bommai, later in the evening, said: “The nine districts are going to see all public transport like KSRTC, BMTC and Metro facilities shut down and only private vehicles including cabs and auto rickshaws functioning. Apart from essential services, provision stores, grocery shops and agriculture services will continue to function.”Bommai said the task force along with Yediyurappa had also decided to allow factories to function, if required, but at 50 per cent strength.“We are not stopping the functioning of factories. But we have asked them to cut their daily strength at 50 per cent. There has to be an alternative day arrangement for factory workers,” said Bommai, claiming the government is not clamping down completely.The government also announced that it will be now screening even domestic passengers at the international airports in Karnataka— Kempegowda International Airport and Mangaluru International Airport.Earlier in the day, briefing the media after an hour long meeting, Yediyurappa said the government has identified Victoria hospital as the designated Covid-19 hospital, with all other in-patients being shifted out of the hospital to other public hospitals.“In some cases, if required, we have also considered shifting patients to private hospitals for treatment. The government will pay for these treatment facilities,” said deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan.