Night curfew imposed in Bengaluru, 7 other cities of Karnataka from 10 pm to 5 am; Essential services exempted

Bengaluru, Apr 08: Amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday night announced 'Corona curfew' (night curfew) will be imposed between 10pm-5am from 10th to 20th April in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkuru, Udupi and Manipal.

Addressing the media, Yediyurappa issued the guidelines for the 'corona curfew' in eight cities of the state and said that all essential services will be exempted. He also said that the night curfew will begin 10 pm and continue till 5 am.

This comes minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meet with chief ministers and representatives of all states and union territories (UTs) and urged them to strengthen their efforts for the next 2-3 weeks to check the spread of the virus on a "war-footing".

Modi had said the five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, COVID-appropriate behaviour and vaccination, if implemented with utmost seriousness and commitment, would be effective in curbing the spread of the pandemic, according to an official statement that was released after the meeting.