Even as the State government was awaiting the closure of the crucial SSLC examination to decide on the next level of measures for combating COVID-19, smaller towns are now resorting to “local lockdowns”, with the trading community compressing the business hours instead of keeping shops open all day through to fight the contagion. The lockdown, however, excludes essential services and supplies.
With speculations rife over another lockdown, voluntary closure of businesses has been reported from small towns of Mysuru, Chamarajnagar and Kodagu districts after a spike in cases. The big jump in cases in the three districts since last week has put the authorities on their toes and are mulling over various measures for keeping the spread under check.
Shopkeepers in T Narsipur town in Mysuru; Gonikoppal in Kodagu and Gundlupet in Chamarajnagar have come up with the idea of “local lockdowns” to do their bit to fight the virus.
“People stay indoors if shops are closed earlier than scheduled. This eventually stops the spread,” is what the traders argue. Gundlupet had reported many cases and therefore traders decided to close shops by 4 p.m. A day later, the district administration issued an order asking for closing shops across Chamarajnagar by 4 p.m.
Reports speak of traders in Gonikoppal planning to observe a bundh on July 2 and 3 to combat the pandemic.
The active cases in Mysuru stand at 89 with cumulative positive cases of 270. Kodagu has so far reported 58 cases with 55 cases in isolation at the COVID-19 hospital. Chamarajnagar reported 22 cases on Wednesday, taking its infection tally to 54 in a short span of time. Incidentally, Chamarajnagar was the only district in the State which was free from COVID-19 for a long time, earning the distinction of “evergreen” district. It lost this tag last month. Kodagu too had no new infections for a long time after the first case reported on March 19 but cases spiralled since June-end.
