Mysuru officials shut down key market areas for 4 days as COVID-19 cases rise

Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Mysuru, the city corporation has decided to close key market areas in the city. 

The MCC issued an order to close down Devaraja Market, Santhepete, Shivaramapete, Mannars Market and Boti Bazaar in the city for the next four days.

The shutdown order will be in effect from Thursday and will extend till Sunday, a notice issued by the Mysuru City Corporation stated.

The markets located in the city's centre are key commercial areas in Mysuru. They will be sanitised with disinfectants over the next four days. Markings will also be made in the area with paint to enforce physical distancing as people wait when the market is opened again for the public. Thermal screening, wearing of masks and use of sanitisers will be mandatory in the market area.

The notice by civic officials also stated that the shops that fail to follow the guidelines laid down will be closed by the police. “If they (traders) come across customers with high temperature or signs of COVID-19 symptoms, they should inform the MCC Health Department," the notice added. 

A Syndicate Bank branch office in Saraswathipuram in the city was sealed off this week after a COVID-19 case was reported among the bank's staff. The district administration in Mysuru will also increase the number of swab collection centres over the next few days. 

Mysuru district has reported 189 COVID-19 patients so far, of whom 79 are still undergoing treatment. The district's administration was earlier hailed for managing the cluster of cases among workers connected to a factory of Jubilant Life Sciences, a pharmaceutical company based in Nanjangud in the district. But after 21 new cases were reported on Tuesday, civic officials in the city decided to close market areas for sanitisation.

Moreover, the Karnataka government has released data showing 11,307 violations of home quarantine in Mysuru district since the start of the lockdown. On Saturday alone, 2270 violations were reported in the district.