Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday expressed unhappiness over “not even 75%” of the State’s population strictly following the lockdown rules. He warned that this could mean the extension of lockdown beyond April 14 in parts of the State.
In an interview with a Kannada news channel on Monday, he said, “We have been doing our best to lock down the State. But it is sadly true that people have not been cooperating with us to the extent we want them to.” He said no one should be under the impression that the situation will be resolved by April 14.
“We are thinking of relaxing restrictions in districts that have not reported any COVID-19 cases. But restrictions may have to continue in districts that have reported cases, especially in the five that have been identified as hotspots,” he said.
Mr. Yediyurappa also said that the relaxing of restrictions will depend on the people of the State and the spread of the virus. “We will review the situation on April 14, when the Prime Minister will also take a call on the situation nationally. But life will not be back to normal on April 15. Some restrictions in certain pockets are inevitable for some more time,” he said.
He said he has directed the Finance Department to ensure salaries are paid to all government employees in April, notwithstanding the other difficulties. “But next month, we will review the situation and decide if we need to cut salaries or withhold or postpone payments, and to what extent we can,” he said.
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