Karnataka Lockdown: The restrictions in Karnataka will be in force till 6 am on June 14 (File)Bengaluru: Karnataka has extended the lockdown necessitated by the second wave of the pandemic till June 14. The restrictions will be in force till 6 am on June 14, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said today.The Chief Minister yesterday said COVID-19 cases are high in rural areas and any move to ease the lockdown would have to be carefully worked out.The state’s Covid technical advisory committee in a report to the government has said positivity rate has to come below 5 per cent and the number of cases should be below 5,000, and only then the restrictions may be eased.”We had earlier announced stringent restrictions from May 24 to June 7 to contain the spread of coronavirus. Though infections have reduced, the spread of the disease is still on,” the Chief Minister told reporters today. “It has been decided to extend the restrictions by a week following the recommendation of experts till June 14 morning,” he said.Karnataka initially announced 14-days “close down” from April 27, but subsequently imposed a complete lockdown from May 10 to 24 as Covid cases continued to rise. It was extended again till June 7, before today’s fresh announcement came.The Chief Minister has said a second financial package for businesses and sections hit hardest by the lockdown is in the works. Karnataka has already announced a relief package of over Rs 1,250 crore for those whose livelihood has been affected by the lockdown.The Karnataka government is also set to administer more than 60 lakh doses of vaccines this month. This will enable the state to vaccinate a total of 2 crore people by June 30, Mr Yediyurappa said today. “…I thank PM Narendra Modi Ji for his continued support towards Karnataka’s vaccination drive,” Mr Yediyurappa tweeted.State Health Minister K Sudhakar said more than 58.71 lakh doses of vaccines will be supplied to Karnataka this month. This includes supply of over 45 lakh doses from the centre and 13.7 lakh doses via the state government’s direct procurement route.K Sudhakar said state capital Bengaluru’s vaccination coverage is one of the highest among big cities in India, with more than 28.3 lakh people inoculated with at least one dose, or 28.6 per cent of the city’s population.
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