The Karnataka government on Monday announced that wearing face masks inside theatres, schools and colleges will be mandatory. The fresh guidelines were announced by state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, in light of Covid concerns rising in the country.
Ahead of New Year celebrations, Sudhakhar said they will only be permitted till 1 am in pubs, restaurants and bars. “Masks will be mandatory for new year celebrations as well. There is no need to panic, but people just need to remain cautious,” an ANI report quoted him as saying.
Earlier, the Karnataka government had mandated use of face masks inside indoor spaces like closed spaces and air-conditioned rooms. The two per cent random testing of international passengers arriving in the state will continue until revised directions from the Centre.
On Monday, CM Basavaraj Bommai stressed on the need to create awareness with spurt of Covid cases globally, especially in China. He said the government will implement preventive measures step by step, without hampering normal life and economic activities. This was discussed at the cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru.
“The current COVID situation was discussed at the cabinet meeting today, about the need to create awareness among the public about increase in booster dose, testing, making testing compulsory for Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases, wearing masks in closed places,” PTI quoted Bommai as saying.
Speaking to reporters, he said, all these things will be discussed at a high-level meeting later in the day.
Earlier, the government decided to set up special camps across Karnataka to improve the booster dose coverage from the existing 20 to 60 per cent within a month. In this connection, the state will coordinate with the Centre for additional stock of booster doses.
In order to check its readiness, the government planned to hold drills in all government and private hospitals to test the condition of oxygen generators, supply networks and the functioning of oxygen cylinders.
