A lockdown will be in effect in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka from Wednesday night for one week, District-In-Charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary told reporters on Monday.
"There are 3 days - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - when commercial activities will be open. The lockdown will be imposed starting on Wednesday night for a period of one week. The district administration will release guidelines for the same," Kota Srinivas, who is the Minister of Fisheries and Muzrai Department said.
Similarly, Dharwad District-In-Charge Minister Jagadish Shettar announced that a lockdown will be in effect in the district for one week starting on Wednesday morning.
"The lockdown will be in effect from 10 am on July 15 to 8 pm on July 24," Jagadish Shettar said.
The decision to impose a lockdown in Dakshina Kannada and Dharwad comes after a steady rise in COVID-19 cases in the two districts. Dakshina Kannada district borders Kerala in the coastal region of Karnataka. There is no decision over a lockdown yet in Udupi district which is north of Dakshina Kannada. Dharwad is located in the state's northern region.
A meeting involving all District Collectors and Superintendents of Police was chaired by Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday. The Chief Minister asked district heads to decide on imposing a lockdown in their respective districts.
Dharwad and Dakshina Kannada district recorded over 100 COVID-19 cases on Sunday. Dakshina Kannada district reported 196 COVID-19 cases on Sunday taking the total number of recorded cases in the district to 2222. There are currently 1419 active cases.
Dharwad district reported 129 COVID-19 cases on Sunday taking the district tally to 1088. 673 cases are currently active in the district.
In Dakshina Kannada, politicians including Mangaluru North MLA Bharat Shetty and Janardhana Poojary have tested positive for coronavirus. Several police officials in the district have also been infected with the virus.
Karnataka has 22746 active COVID-19 cases and a majority (14067) of them were reported in Bengaluru, the state capital. It was earlier announced that a lockdown will be in effect in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts from 8 pm on July 14 to 5 am on July 22.