The Udupi administration on Tuesday decided to seal the district borders at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night till July 29 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Movement to and from the district will not be allowed during the period, while commercial activities can go on as they did during Unlock 2.0, Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha has said.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting there with MLAs from the district, Mr. Jagadeesha said that those leaving the district or reaching it could do so by 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Thereafter, there will be no movement to and from the district, except for medical emergencies.
Though bus services would not be available during the period, there would be no restriction on commercial activities except during the Sunday lockdown. However, public gatherings, including shandys, religious or public meetings and festivals, would not be allowed.
Marriages the dates of which were decided earlier could be conducted after the parties concerned obtain permission from Tahsildars concerned with a maximum attendance of 50 people. Religious places could throw their doors open to devotees but with a maximum of only 20 people at a time, Mr. Jagadeesha said. If traders decide to observe voluntary lockdown, the administration has no objection to it, he said.
Mr. Jagadeesha said of the total COVID-19 positive patients in the district, 8.86 % had had travel history and 14.2 % were their primary contacts. Experts have suggested that preventing cross-border movement of people could effectively curtail the spread of the disease.
The Deputy Commissioner said that 140 beds were available at the TMA Pai Hospital, Udupi, for advanced COVID-19 care, while government hospitals at Kundapur and Karkala would be used to treat COVID-19 patients with minor symptoms.
In all, 470 beds were available for symptomatic patients, while 600 were available for treating people with minor symptoms. The administration has the capacity to enhance total beds to 1,800 in the coming days.
MLAs V. Sunil Kumar, K. Raghupathi Bhat, Halady Srinivas Shetty, B.M. Sukumar Shetty and Lalaji R. Mendon, Superintendent of Police Vishnuvardhana and others attended the meeting.
