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Coronavirus

No lockdown extension in Bengaluru

The Karnataka chief minister announced that lockdown in Bengaluru city will not be extended and life will go back to normal starting Wednesday.

A health worker wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) gear walks past the residents standing in queue to register their names at a free testing centre for the COVID-19 coronavirus, at Medchalx96Malkajgiri district on the outskirts of Hyderabad July
NOAH SEELAMAFP

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa announced today that there is no intention of extending lockdown in Bengaluru and everything will go back to normal as of Wednesday, noting that fighting Covid-19 takes more than imposing lockdown, as the state needs to revive its economy to be able to withstand the battle.

The chief minister stated in an online video "There'll be no lockdown from tomorrow, people need to get back to work. We have to fight Covid-19 while maintaining a stable economy. Lockdown is not the solution, now restrictions will be placed only in containment zones".

People should continue following Covid-19 safety measures and guidelines

Yediyurappa added that although the lockdown is coming to an end, people need to continue complying with safety protocols set by the government and health authorities to help contain the virus spread. He called on people of Karnataka to keep wearing their face masks and gloves and observe social distancing, suggesting that this is the only way they have currently to combat the virus at least until a vaccine is found.

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Following a sharp spike in the Covid-19 cases, Bengaluru has been on lockdown from 14 July till 22 July, as the city has reported 1,452 new cases in just 24 hours on Monday.

Bengaluru  has been recently suffering from another rising problem that followed the surge in coronavirus cases, which is the lack of beds in hospitals and the shortage in the number of ambulances that are able to transport patients to hospitals.

In light of that, the chief minister assured that the government has been taking adequate measures to resolve such an issue. "People are saying there is a problem with the ambulances. We have made arrangements. This is at the booth level also," he said.

Karnataka has reported a total of 67,420 cases so far;1,403 deaths; and 23,795 discharges.