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Bengaluru, July 14: The Karnataka government has allowed some relaxations during the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru urban and rural districts. The lockdown will commence from 8p.m. today (July 14) and end at 5a.m. on July 22.  The government has released the guidelines for lockdown.

Restrictions

*No new flights or trains will be permitted; only flights and trains already scheduled will continue to operate. Flight and train tickets shall serve as passes for movement by taxis/cab aggregators/auto rickshaws.

* Metro rail services prohibited

* Taxis and services of cab aggregators will be prohibited except for emergency and as permitted in guidelines.

* Schools, colleges, educational/training/coaching institutions etc. will remain closed. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted. Examination already scheduled shall be permitted

* Hotels, restaurants, and hospitality services, prohibited except those meant for health/police/government officials/healthcare workers. Hotels and restaurants shall be permitted to operate kitchens for takeaway/home delivery of food items only.

* All cinema halls, shopping malls, gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadia, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.

* All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural religious functions/other gatherings and large congregations.

* All religious places/places of worship shall be closed for public. Religious congregations are strictly prohibited. Commercial and private establishment shall be closed down

Relaxations (outside containment zone)

* Shops including ration shops (PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, etc. to open only from 5 am to 12 noon. Home delivery of essential items shall be encouraged.

* All facilities in the supply chain of essential goods, whether involved in manufacturing, wholesale or retail of such goods through local stores, large brick and mortar stores or e-commerce companies.

* All food processing and related industries.

* Banks, insurance offices and ATM.

* Print and electronic media.

* Telecommunication, internet services, broadcasting and cable services, IT and IT-enabled services with minimum staff for essential purposes. As far as possible, work from home should be encouraged.

* Delivery of essential items such as food, medicines, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce.

* Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.

* Capital and debt market services and notified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)

* Cold storage and warehousing services.

* Private security services.

* Delivery of goods by E-Commerce companies. Industries/industrial establishments as listed below will be allowed to operate (outside containment zones):

i. Production units which require continuous process, and their supply chain.

ii. Food processing industries, manufacturing of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates.

iii. Manufacturing of packing materials.

iv. Manufacturing and other industrial establishment with access control in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) or outside municipal limits and Export Oriented Units (EoUs), Industrial townships. Construction activities will be allowed in continuation of works in construction projects, where workers are available on site.

The government of India has added 141 more flights to West Asian countries for the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, its massive repatriation programme for citizens stranded overseas because of Covid-19-related travel restrictions.

The second phase was to end on May 22. However, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the ongoing phase will last till June 13 and that India is looking at making Frankfurt a hub for the mission.

With these new flights, more than half of them to the United Arab Emirates, the total number of flights in the second phase of the programme have gone up to more than 400, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.

The flights were added due to increased demand from citizens stranded in West Asian countries and the availability of adequate quarantine facilities in states for the returning Indians, the people said. As with all the flights operated so far under Vande Bharat Mission, priority will be given in the second phase to Indian nationals with compelling reasons for returning to the country, they added.

The additional flights are from the UAE (81 flights), Oman and Saudi Arabia (15 flights each), Kuwait (14 flights), Qatar (11 flights) and Bahrain (five flights).

A majority of the flights are bound for Kerala (84 flights), while the other destinations are Delhi (10 flights), Tamil Nadu (nine flights), Telangana (six flights) Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir (five flights each), Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (four flights each), Punjab (three flights), Odisha and West Bengal (two flights each), Chandigarh, Karnataka and Goa (one flight each).

The other 260-odd flights being operated during the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission are from Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, the UK, Ukraine and the US.

The second phase of the repatriation programme began on May 16 and will continue till June 13, with all the flights being operated by state-run Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Private airlines are likely to be included in the third phase.

As of Thursday, a total of 23,475 Indians have been repatriated under Vande Bharat Mission. The second phase had included new destinations such as Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh City and Lagos, and had increased flights to the US and Europe.

More than 259,000 Indians in 98 countries across the world have registered to return under Vande Bharat Mission. Most of them are workers (28%), students (25%), professionals (14.5%), and short-term visa holders such as tourists (7.6%). Fishermen, deportees and Indian nationals who benefited from visa amnesties have also registered.

Bengaluru, Jun 1: Karnataka's Department of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday released the protocol for inter-state travellers to the State during phased reopening --#Unlock1.

Five points protocol in this regard are: 1. Mandatory Self- Registration on Seva Sindhu Portal by all travellers before entering Karnataka:

a. Name, Address and Mobile Number to be provided

b. No approval required

c. Use of same Mobile number for multiple registrations not allowed except in the case of a family.

d. Business visitors to give details (name, mobile and address of persons in Karnataka they intend to meet).

e. Transit travellers to provide an address in destination state and indicate exit check post from Karnataka.

2. Health Screening of all incoming persons at entry points.

a. Border Check-posts, Airports, Railway stations and Bus stand

b. Home Quarantine hand-stamping on hand for 14-days period as per quarantine norms

3. Quarantine norms are based on three parameters

I. Symptomatic on arrival from any State: 7 days of Hospital isolation at COVID Care Centre(CCC)/Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC) followed by 7 days of home quarantine or manage as per symptoms.

II. Test immediately on arrival: If positive, shift to Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital (DCH). If negative, no further test required

III. Asymptomatic on arrival:

* For persons coming from Maharashtra

a) 7 days of institutional quarantine followed by 7 days of home quarantine

b) Test if they develop symptoms during the quarantine period

c) Exceptions for Special Category Asymptomatic persons--14-days home quarantine (one attendant to be permitted) and Special category passengers--Death in the family, Pregnant Women, Children aged below 10 years, Elderly aged above 60 years, Serious illness, Human Distress

d) Business travellers from Maharashtra: To establish that one is a business traveller, a person should show confirmed return flight/train ticket which should not be more than 7 days later from the date of arrival.

In case one is coming by road, he/she should provide the address proof of person in Karnataka he intends to meet. In addition, the person should produce -- one having COVID-19 negative test certificate, which is not more than two days old -- exempted from quarantine.

One does not have a COVID-19 negative test certificate, such a person should go for institutional quarantine of two days within which COVID-19 test should be conducted at his/her own cost. After the test result is negative, the person is exempted from quarantine. No hand stamping of the business visitor is required.

e) All travellers from Maharashtra who come with COVID-19 negative test certificate from an ICMR approved lab, which is not more than two days old from the date of arrival, are exempted from seven days of institution quarantine. They can be asked to go for 14 days of home quarantine.

f) Transit traveller from Maharashtra: To establish that one is a transit traveller, a person should show flight/ train ticket for the onward journey which should not be more than 1 day later from the date of arrival. In case one is travelling by road, he/she should provide the identity proof and address proof in the destination state. Such traveller should be hand stamped if travelling by road as "Transit Traveller."

*For persons coming from other States

a) 14 days of home quarantine

b) Test if they develop symptoms during the home quarantine period

c) For persons where home quarantine is not possible, then institutional quarantine should be done, especially when we have a large family or no separate room for home quarantine, slum or overcrowded areas where home quarantine can not be followed.

d) Business visitors from the Other States: To establish that one is a business traveller, a person should show confirmed return flight/train ticket which should not be more than 7 days later from the date of arrival. In case one is coming by road, he/she should provide the address proof of the native State. No quarantine, and no hand stamping for business visitors from other states.

e) Transit traveller from the other States: To establish that one is a transit traveller, the person should show flight/train ticket for the onward journey which should not be more than one day later from the date of arrival. In case one is travelling by road, he/she should provide the identity proof and address proof in the destination state. Such traveller should be hand stamped if travelling by road as "Transit Traveller."

4. Home Quarantine: Home quarantine follow-up for all incoming persons except business visitors and transit travellers

A. For Rural Areas--

* Home quarantine poster on the home door.

* Information to two neighbours

* Gram Panchayat Task Force to carry an overall responsibility of Home Quarantine

* 3-Member team in every village to monitor

* Flying Squad: FIR against violation of home quarantine and shift to institutional quarantine

* IVRS Call-centre outbound calls

* Quarantine watch App-daily self-monitoring upload-Temperature, Finger-tip pulse-oximetry for elderly and persons with co-morbidity

B. For BBMP and other Urban Areas--

* Home Quarantine Poster on the home door.

* Information to two neighbours and resident welfare/apartment owner's association.

* Ward level team to carry an overall responsibility of home quarantine

* 3-member team at booth level to monitor along with the involvement of Resident Welfare/Apartment Owners' Associations

* Flying Squad: FIR against violation of home quarantine and shift to institutional quarantine

* IVRS Call-centre outbound calls

* Quarantine watch App: Daily self-monitoring upload- temperature, finger-tip pulse-oximetry for elderly and persons with co-morbidity

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).

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 2,922 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State including 1,877 active cases, 997 recovered and 48 deaths.