While Deputy Commissioners of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi K.V. Rajendra and M. Kurma Rao, respectively, on Friday, urged people, particularly businessmen, to strictly adhere to weekend and night curfew norms being imposed to contain COVID-19, people’s representatives from the region demanded lifting of weekend curfew in Dakshina Kannada.
During a virtual meeting with officials on COVID-19 control on Friday, Dr. Rajendra said that merchants should follow all COVID-19 control norms. The district administration will take legal action against those who did not comply with them, he said and added that he would hold a meeting with merchants shortly.
While asking health workers to make use of allocated vaccine doses on the same day, he said that focus should be on vaccinating all those in the border areas who run the risk of getting the infection.
About 15,000 tests should continue to be carried out in the district everyday. Health workers were also asked to keep a close tab on those in home quarantine. Private hospitals were asked to do COVID-19 test of all those having symptoms of cold, cough and fever and shift them to COVID Care Centres if they are tested positive.
Speaking to reporters in Udupi, Mr. Kurma Rao said that weekend and night curfew were being imposed in the district as it was closer to Kerala where positive cases were on the rise and the district receives a large number of students from that State. Weekend curfew would be in force from 9 p.m. on Friday till 5 a.m. on Monday. However, people could buy essentials between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, he said.
Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari meeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru on Friday to urge him to withdraw weekend curfew in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
Demand
Minister for Social and Backward Classes Welfare Kota Srinivas Poojari and Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath on Friday met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru and urged him to lift weekend curfew in the coastal region.
In a memorandum, they said that merchants have demanded the withdrawal of weekend curfew as it was posing problems for workers, autorickshaw drivers and small businessmen in earning a living, more so in Mangaluru, which is a commercial centre.
At the same time, people should strictly follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour to contain the spread of the pandemic, they said.
