Partial lockdown lift
Post June 14, the lockdown will continue in 11 districts, including Bengaluru Rural which has test positivity rate (TPR) above 5%. However, it will be eased for other districts including Bengaluru Urban.
In Bengaluru Urban district, the following rules will be in effect:
- Essential shops will open from 6 am to 2 pm
- Parks will be open from 5 am to 10 am
- Street vendors can operate from 6 am to 2 pm
- Autos and taxis with only two persons can operate
- Garment industry can function with 30% capacity
- Factories can open at 50% capacity
- All construction activities are allowed to start. Shops pertaining to construction activities, like those selling cement and steel, are allowed to open.
However, malls, cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools will remain shut. And restrictions on marriage, funerals and public gatherings will continue. Metro rail and bus services are not allowed. Inter-state and intra-state movement of passenger vehicles has been permitted. Night curfew will be in effect from 7 pm to 5 am. The weekend curfew will also be in effect from 7 pm on Friday till 5 am on Monday.
These guidelines will be in effect till June 21. If COVID positivity rate dips again, the lockdown will be eased further. However, experts and industry representatives say economic recovery can begin only when the entire ecosystem of production and markets are opened simultaneously.
Source: Indian Express, The Times of India, Bangalore Mirror
Lockdown affecting kids’ health
Lack of physical activity during the lockdown has triggered unhealthy Body Mass Index (BMI) in children, shows an annual health survey by Sportz Village Schools. Of the 15,657 children chosen for the survey in Bengaluru, 53% had an unhealthy BMI.
Three out of five had unhealthy upper body strength. Two out of three had unhealthy lower body strength. Twenty per cent of the children were in the ‘unhealthy’ category in terms of abdominal strength. Two out of five children scored poorly in flexibility as well.
Source: Deccan Herald
Second wave wanes, prep on for third wave
As the COVID second wave seems to be waning, BBMP has decided to retain only 20% of general category beds in private medical colleges and hospitals, and to release the rest. However, the Karnataka High Court said BBMP should continue operating care and triage centres until a panel of experts submit their report on the possible third wave.
The government has started inaugurating facilities that should have been ready for the second wave. On Monday, the government re-inaugurated the 150-year-old Epidemic Diseases Hospital as a 24-bed ICU facility, along with other facilities at CV Raman General Hospital, Lady Curzon and Bowring Hospital. Through the preparations had been done over eight months ago, officials argued these were being put in place now for a possible third wave.
Since the third wave is expected to affect children, BBMP is planning to draft the services of non-paediatric doctors and train them to treat children. Anganwadi workers have also been asked to brace up. The government plans to set up paediatric wards in all district hospitals and to conduct health check-ups for children in the next three months. Government guidelines suggest that Remdesivir is not recommended for patients below 18 years, and that the use of steroids in treating asymptomatic and mild COVID cases is harmful.
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express, Deccan Herald, Bangalore Mirror
Read more: COVID lessons Bengaluru must learn from second wave
Vaccination drives in slums, apartments
The BBMP said that 10.9 lakh of the 30.6 lakh persons living in the city’s 1,311 slums have been vaccinated during special drives, through its urban public health centres and dispensaries. Similarly, 1.8 lakh frontline workers and those belonging to priority groups have been vaccinated.
Over the past week, ChangeMakers of Kanakapura Road Association (CMKRA), a consortium of over 80 Residents Welfare Associations, facilitated the vaccination of more than 5,000 residents spread across six wards. The paid vaccinations are done in partnership with four hospitals. The collective has proposed to vaccinate a total of 15,000 people.
Officials said vaccines will also be administered to every sportsperson in the state.
Source: The Hindu, Deccan Herald, The New Indian Express
Read More: These Bengaluru volunteers filled gaps in COVID management
Electricity tariff up
The government, on Wednesday, announced an average hike in electricity tariff by 30 paise per unit for all electricity supply companies (Escoms) for the ongoing fiscal 2021-2022. The revision, as notified by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), would result in an average hike of 3.84%. The revised tariff will be effective from the first meter reading date on or after April 1. Arrears will be recovered from consumers in October and November this year, without charging any interest.
Source: Indian Express
Direct Bank Transfer app launched
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa launched the Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) application, developed by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), on Thursday. Officials said that 120 schemes in the State have been included in this platform. Over the past two years, more than Rs 12,000 crore has been directly credited to the banks accounts of beneficiaries whose Aadhar had been linked with their accounts.
Source: Indian Express
IIMB, IISc top national lists
The Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore has been ranked the top B-school in India in Business & Management Studies, third time in a row, by the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject. The assessment was based on employers’ reputation, academic reputation and research impact. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) also featured on top in its respective category. It secured a perfect score of 100 out of 100 for the citations per faculty (CPF) metric.
Source: Indian Express, Deccan Herald
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]
BESCom again raises power tarrif we are already paying the highest domestic tarrif in India… Some shame
While the BESCOM has increased the tariff they don’t seem to do anything I upgrade their systems. They are so outdated that often there is power failures.
It says essential items stores…but messages are coming from jewellery and clothing stores saying that they are opening from June 14th. There seems to be a misunderstanding in the phased opening guidelines.