Ahead of Christmas and New Year, night curfew to be imposed in Bengaluru

Bengaluru night curfew: As more cases of the Omicron variant were detected in Karnataka, taking the total number of patients infected with the new variant in the state to eight, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now planning to cut down on events where there is more crowd gathering. There is also a proposal to control crowd during Christmas and New Year's Eve.

BBMP chief commissioner Gaurav Gupta informed media persons on the steps taken to control Omicron infection. He said: "There is a need to restrict crowd during Christmas and New Year's Eve. But the government has not yet been informed about this. A high-level committee will take a decision on the advice of the technical advisory committee appointed by the State government. We are also looking at the situation here, based on the global growth in the spread of Omicron. Many have taken precautionary measures. Over 40,000 Covid tests are being conducted in the BBMP limits. We have made RTPCR testing mandatory for those coming from countries that are listed," he said.

'If Covid is confirmed in people who are visiting from foreign countries, we will send the sample to genome sequencing. They must undergo an eight-day compulsory stay. The test will be repeated on the eighth day and if the infection is confirmed again, their stay should be continued' he added.

Dr KV Trilokachandra, Special Commissioner (Health) of BBMP said: 'We have discussed on the need to prevent people from gathering during the Christmas and New Year. He said he would submit a proposal to the government on Saturday.

Senior police officers and BBMP officials have been asked to draft rules to allow for a night curfew before four days of the New Year. It would be difficult to control people if the night curfew rules are issued all of a sudden on December 30 or 31 . It has been suggested that the situation will be easier to control if implemented four days in advance.

However, on December 16, CM Basavaraj Bommai speaking on restrictions for Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state, said that "his government would want to observe the situation for a week's time and then arrive at a decision. Regarding any special curbs like night curfew also, a decision we will decide after watching the situation for a week. We did not want to take any hasty decision."