Following the outbreak of coronavirus in the city, the Kalaburagi City Corporation has decided to put the city on almost complete lockdown. Reports said that the City Corporation has ordered all shops and commercial establishments to be shut. This includes street vendors, bakeries, restaurants, theatres, and non-essential shopping like footwear and clothing.
“We are advising all people to stay at home and not go out even if they have work. Only if it is very urgent they are to go out, and if there is a need to buy some essential commodities, only one person should go out and shop for all necessary items, whether is it vegetables, milk, medicines or groceries. No other people are allowed to be outside,” the Kalaburagi District commissioner (DC), B Sharat told TNM.
The official also said that all essential government offices would be functioning, such as the tahsildar, water, electricity and health department offices. "However, non-essential government services such as the Regional Transport Office (RTO) would not offer their services to the public, to avoid people congregating in these offices,” the DC added.
The order follows the announcement of three confirmed close-contact cases of COVID-19 in Kalaburagi. These are all connected to the first case of coronavirus, reported there: a 76 year old man who had returned from Saudi Arabia. At first, he was being treated for his known respiratory illness, asthma, but doctors realised later that the older man was actually suffering from an infection of coronavirus. The sample came back positive only after the patient had already died.
In the process, the 76-year-old man transmitted the virus to his daughter and to the doctor who was treating him.
On March 12, the district authority had ordered the closure of all anganwadis, schools, other educational institutions, parks, shopping malls for a week.
All public gatherings have already been banned. The district officials are in touch with the organisers of the Basaveshwara Yatra Samiti to postpone the event. All plays which were scheduled will also be postponed. All forms of government celebrations will also stand postponed.
The previous order from March 12 was issued by Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharath under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Removal of public obstruction, Conduct of trade which is injurious to public health, etc).