The Shivamogga district administration has decided to introduce night curfew from 6 p.m. onwards to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 infection with effect from Saturday. A meeting chaired by Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj K.S.Eshwarappa, who is also Minister in charge of the district, took this decision in Shivamogga this morning. Earlier, the State government had introduced night curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. In Shivamogga, the curfew will be in effect from 6 p.m. itself.
Mr. Eshwarappa told reporters that except essential services, all shops and business establishments would be closed at 6 p.m. People should not come out of their houses. The public had been cooperative till now with the measures taken by the district administration to avoid the spread of the infection. However, in recent days the number of confirmed cases had been on the rise. “Now, we have to take some more measures to bring down the number of cases”, the Minister said. He also appealed to the public to wear a mask and maintain physical distance in public places. Those violate the rule would be penalised.
Deputy Commissioner K.B. Shivakumar said the public should follow discipline so that infection could be avoided. Mayor Suvarna Shankar, SP K.M. Shantharaju, ZP CEO M.L. Vyshali and other officers attended the meeting. The district administration had invited representatives of various non-government organizations for suggestions.
