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Bengaluru, Jul 9: Alarmed over surging COVID-19 cases, the Karnataka government has decided to divide this tech city into containment zones to curb the spread of the pandemic, a state minister said on Thursday.

"The city will be divided into red, orange and yellow zones in commensurate with the number of Covid cases in them for containing the virus spread on war footing," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy told reporters here.

Cabinet ministers representing assembly segments in the city will be in-charge of the zones to ensure the cases are curbed with strict enforcement of lockdown guidelines, especially wearing mask and maintaining social distancing by the people in the confinement areas.

"Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has convened a meeting of ministers, MLAs, MPs and corporators of all the 198 civic wards across the city on Friday to discuss and draw an action plan to contain the pandemic," said Madhuswamy.

With 1,148 positive cases, the city''s Covid tally rose to 12,509 and active to 10,103, while 2,228 were discharged, including 418 on Wednesday, while 177 succumbed to the infection since March 9, with 23 in the last 24 hours.

"The Chief Minister ordered deploying more ambulances in the containment areas where cases have been spiking daily to rush Covid patients to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment," said Madhuswamy.

The city civic corporation -- Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) --has increased the containment zones to 3,181 due to more cases spiking, with southern and western suburbs accounting for most infections.

"The containment zones are concentrated more in the city''s southern and western suburbs. Active cases doubled over the last 8 days and shot up to a whopping 12,509 from 4,555 on June 30," an official said.

Refuting graft charges by opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah in the purchase of medical equipment for treatment of Covid patients, Madhuswamy said the state government had not spent more than Rs 600 crore so far.

"We are running a government. Not a private office. We will give account. He (Siddaramaiah) is welcome to check the accounts and verify the documents," asserted the minister.

In a related development, the cabinet also approved an ordinance to increase the state contingency fund to Rs 500 crore from Rs 80 crore for the Covid-19 induced economic relief measures announced by the chief minister in June.

Bengaluru, May 31: Karnataka government on Sunday issued guidelines, which will come into force from June 1 and continue till June 30.

According to the new guidelines, religious places and places of worship for the public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, and shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday announced new guidelines for phased re-opening of "all activities outside containment zones for the next one month beginning June 1.

In an order, Karnataka government said that phased re-opening of areas outside the containment zones, all activities will be permitted, except the following, which will be allowed, with the stipulation of following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

PHASE I

The activities will be allowed with effect from June 8 at religious places/places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality services, shopping malls.

PHASE II

For the opening of schools, colleges, educational/training/ coaching institutions, the State government will hold consultations at the institution level with parents and other stakeholders. Based on the feedback, a decision on the re-opening of these institutions will be taken in the month of July.

PHASE III

Based on the assessment of the situation, dates for re-starting activities will be decided -- international air travel of passengers, except as permitted by MHA, Metro Rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places, social/political/spoils/ entertainment/academic/cultural/religious functions and other large congregations.

The State government said that it will follow the MHA's national directives for the coronavirus management, including compulsory use of face masks and social distancing norms.

"Face coverings are compulsory in public places, workplaces and during transport. Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places. Shops will ensure physical distancing among customers and will not allow more than 5 persons at a time," read the directives issued by the MHA.

In the order, State government has said that night curfew will continue to remain in force on the movement of individuals for all non-essential activities outside containment zones till June 30.

Lockdown limited to Containment Zones

* Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in the Containment Zones till June 30.

* Containment Zones will be demarcated by the district authorities after taking into consideration the guidelines of Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka.

* In the Containment Zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining a supply of essential goods and services.

* In the Containment Zones, there shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required. Guidelines of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka shall be taken into consideration for the above purpose.

* District authorities/BBMP authorities may also identify buffer zones outside the Containment Zones, where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the buffer zones, restrictions, as considered necessary, may be put in place by the District authorities.

Movement of persons, goods

* There shall be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movements.

* Based on reasons of public health and assessment of the prevalence of Covid-19 in various States separate orders will be issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department regarding the inter-state movement of persons to Karnataka.

* Movement by passenger trains and Shramik special trains; domestic passenger air travel; movement of Indian Nationals stranded outside the country and of specified persons to travel abroad; evacuation of foreign nationals; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per SOPs issued.

The State Government in its guidelines advised persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years, to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes.

Guidelines for Aarogya Setu App

* Aarogya Setu enables early identification of potential risk of infection, and thus acts as a shield for individuals and the community.

* With a view to ensuring safety in offices and workplaces, employers on best effort basis should ensure that Aarogya Sew is installed by all employees having compatible mobile phones.

* District authorities and BBMP Authorities may advise individuals to install the Aarogya Setu application on compatible mobile phones and regularly update their health status on the app. This will facilitate timely provision of medical attention to those individuals who are at risk.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday said that lockdown will continue in containment zones till June 30 and only essential activities will be allowed in those areas.

"Lockdown shall continue to remain in force in the containment zones till 30 June. In the containment zones, only essential activities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeter control to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and for maintaining the supply of essential goods and services. In the containment zones, there shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance, and other clinical interventions, as required," MHA said in its guidelines for #Unlock1.

It also issued new guidelines for phased re-opening of "all activities outside containment zones for the next one month beginning June 1."

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: The Kerala government announced the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in two zones, allowing among other private vehicles movement in an odd-even basis and dine-in services at hotels from Monday.

State police chief Loknath Behera said the relaxations of restrictions imposed would come into effect in the Green and Orange-B zones in the state from Monday,an official release said.

Earlier, the Left government had colour-coded 14 districts of the state into four zones-- Red, Green, Orange-A and Orange-B, for containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Red zone comprises Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. In this zone, a complete lockdown will be in place until May 3 while two entry and exit points are allowed for carrying essential commodities to coronavirus hotspots. Orange-A zone comprises Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kollam while orange-B zone comprises Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad.

The lockdown will be in effect until April 24 in this zone and then partial relaxation will be allowed. Kottayam and Idukki come under the Green zone, in which lockdown will be in effect until April 20 and then regulations will be eased. However, large gatherings, the functioning of educational institutions, religious functions, celebrations and travel outside the district will not be allowed in this zone.

Not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in weddings and funerals, according to government instructions. On the functioning of courts, the release said, "Courts in the Green and Orange-B zones will re-open on April 21 while that in Orange-A zone will start functioning from April 25. The courts will function with 33 per cent of staff. The cases will be heard via video conferencing."

Meanwhile, the Bankers' Council has announced that banks will function as per the usual timings from Monday in the state except four districts falling under the Red zone. The Transport Ministry has clarifiedthat public transport won't be allowed to ply in the state during the lockdown period. "Inter-district travel will not be allowed despite relaxations in the state, but essential services such as medical services, food supplies will not be stopped. However, in case of emergency, inter-district travel will be allowed with an affidavit prepared by the traveller," Behra said in a release.

On the implementation of the odd-even scheme for private vehicles, the police said, "Vehicles with odd numbers will be permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even numbers will be allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Woman drivers travelling solo or with dependants are also exempted from it, police said. On Sundays, only those working for essential services are allowed to use their vehicles.

All education institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, public parks, bars, places of worship will remain closed in all zones of the state. The health department and local administration, which carry out sanitation work before the monsoon, are allowed to operate. Four-wheelers are permitted to carry two passengers besides the driver and in case of a two-wheeler, only the driver will be allowed while the pillion rider is allowed in case the person is a family member.

On Dine-in services, a government order said it is allowed at hotels and restaurants until 7 PM in Green and Orange-B zone from Monday and in Orange-A zone from April 24. However, take-away counters can function until 8 PM, it said. Kerala on Sunday reported two positive cases of Covid-19 in the state taking the total number of affected to 401 while the health department announced that 13 people were cured.