Karnataka imposes fresh restrictions amid covid surge; shuts gyms, swimming pools

News Network
April 2, 2021

Bengaluru, Apr 2: Amidst fresh spike in covid cases, the Karnataka government today ordered the closure of gyms and swimming pools and capped the seating capacity in theatres at 50 per cent in a new set of guidelines. 

The new restrictions will be in force till April 20, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar said in his order. 

Besides the closure of gyms and swimming pools, the government has ordered apartment complexes to shut common facilities such as party halls and clubhouses. 

“In cinema halls, alternate seating subject to a maximum of 50 per cent seating capacity only shall be allowed in the districts of Bengaluru Urban and Rural, including BBMP, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Bidar and Dharwad,” the order stated. 

Gatherings and functions are prohibited in places of religious worship, but individuals are allowed to visit them and offer prayers, the order specified. Restrictions on public gatherings and congregations during religious festivals and jathras/fairs will continue, it added. 

The government has also clamped down on rallies, dharnas irrespective of the reason. 

The order stated that classes 6-9, including Vidyagama, will be suspended, but that classes 10-12 can continue. However, physical attendance is not a must. Even college classes will be closed, except those due for board or university exams. 

Similarly, boarding schools and residential hostels will be closed, except for students of classes 10-12 and college-goers appearing for exams, the order stated. 

Public transport will function normally without exceeding seating capacity. 

The new curbs signal the alarm within the B S Yediyurappa administration as the number of Covid-19 cases in Karnataka breached the 10-lakh mark this week. “It has been observed that there has been a persistent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state during the last one month,” the order pointed out. 

In the districts of Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Bidar and Hubballi-Dharwad, the number of customers in pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants is capped at 50 per cent. 

“Strict Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) like ensuring wearing of masks, physical distancing, provision of hand sanitiser/hand wash shall be enforced. If there is any violation in pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants, the facility shall be closed till the pandemic is over,” the order stated. 

The above rule will apply to shopping malls, closed markets and departmental stores, which will be closed if violations occur. 

The number of persons allowed for various activities will remain the same: 500 people at marriages if it is an open space, 200 in a hall or a closed space; 100 people at birthday celebrations in open spaces and 50 in closed spaces; 100 people at funerals in an open space, 50 if closed; 50 people at cremations and burials; 100 people in all other congregations; 500 are allowed in religious and political gatherings in open spaces.

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Agencies
March 24,2025

gazacrisis.jpg

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that the tight Israeli blockade on the entry of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip is pushing the coastal territory closer to an acute hunger crisis.

Philippe Lazzarini made the remarks in a social media post, in which he noted that the siege, which is preventing food, medicines, water and fuel from entering the region, has lasted longer than what was in place in the first phase of the war.

Israel has banned the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza since March 4, following the expiry of the first phase of a ceasefire and an agreement with Hamas resistance movement on the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners.

Lazzarini warned that Gaza’s population depends on imports via Israeli-occupied territories for their survival.

“Every day that passes without the entry of aid means more children go to bed hungry, diseases spread & deprivation deepens,” he said.

“Every day without food inches Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis,” the UNRWA chief noted.

Lazzarini described the banning of aid as a collective punishment on Gaza’s population – the vast majority of which are children, women and ordinary men.

He called for the siege to be lifted and for humanitarian aid and commercial supplies to be brought into Gaza “uninterrupted and at scale.”

Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long campaign of oppression against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 50,021 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 113,274 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

On November 21 last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its deadly war on the blockaded coastal sliver.

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