Karnataka announces two-week lockdown as cases surge above 50,000 in a day

Bengaluru : Karnataka on Friday announced a two-day lockdown as the number of coronavirus cases surged near 50,000-mark in a day. BS Yediyurappa government said that the lockdown will be observed from May 10 (6am) to May 24.

The movement of essential goods and services will be allowed during the lockdown. The grocery selling stores will also be allowed to operate from 6am to 6pm, the government announced.

Other services and tasks allowed to continue during the lockdown are road repair work and cargo vehicles.

Shops and other commercial units like hotels, pubs, bars and industries that are not directly related to providing essential services will have to pull down their shutters.

Karnataka is among the states which have been listed by the Central government with more coronavirus cases. The state capital Bengaluru has been adding the biggest number of fresh cases every day to the state's total caseload.

The normal passenger trains will operate as per schedule, but the metro train for local transport will remain unoperational during the lockdown period.

The state reported 48,781 fresh cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate in the state remains at 40 per cent. The city reported 21,376 cases and 346 deaths in the last 24 hours.