Karnataka Chief BS Yediyurappa is opposed to extending the weeklong lockdown that has been put in place in Bengaluru since Tuesday 8 pm, even though the city civic body has asked for it, sources said.
Speaking to ministers, Bengaluru MPs and senior bureaucrats in a meeting, the CM said that he was not in favour of extending the lockdown and added that an extension will not solve the present pandemic-induced crisis, a note from the CM’s office said. "Lockdown is not a solution to curb the spread of COVID-19; the state government has no plans of continuing the lockdown", the Chief Minister's statement said.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Mayor Goutham Kumar said that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has requested the state government to extend the lockdown by another week.
“People are still not aware and wandering outside their houses aimlessly. Keeping this in view, the government may extend the lockdown by a week to contain the spread of COVID-19,” news agency ANI quoted the Mayor as saying.
Deccan Herald also quoted BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar favouring a 14-day lockdown. He however added that it is the CM who will take a final call, while insisting that a 14-day window is essential to break the chain of the virus.
Incidentally in an interview with TNM, City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had said that the responsible attitude towards the lockdown regulations in the city had made the police’s job easier to implement norms.
The lockdown for Bengaluru City along with Bengaluru Rural district was announced by the CM on July 11 citing that it was advised by experts to curb the COVID-19 infection spike in the city.
According to the Karnataka COVID-19 War Room report, Bengaluru has a positivity of 19.9% over the last 30 days compared to the statewide average of 10.8%.
The city has reported at least 1,000 cases daily since July 8. On Thursday, more than 2,000 cases were reported from Bengaluru taking the total number of active cases to 18,828.