Daijiworld Media Network –Mangaluru (DV)

Mangaluru, Jul 31: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner (DC) Dr Rajendra KV on Saturday July 31 said, "Lockdown will be imposed in the district if the number of Covid-19 cases spike. Thus, people should strictly adhere to the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, by wearing masks, maintaining social distance and giving attention to hygiene."

Speaking to Daijiworld, the DC said, “Imposing weekend curfew too will be necessary. So, the public should strictly adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines."

"The state government has directed that the deputy commissioners should take responsibility to check the spread of Covid cases. Due to the pandemic, people from all sections have faced financial uncertainty. If the public does not want complete lockdown, they should cooperate with the district administration. If the people do not adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines, a situation may arise of imposing complete lockdown. The district administration is putting its maximum efforts to check the spread of the virus."

“After a discussion with the elected representatives, we have increased the testing capacity. As of now, we are conducting 7,000 to 9,000 Covid tests. In the first wave, about 2,000 to 3,000 tests were conducted. We have planned to hold 10,000 to 12,000 tests. Lockdown will be imposed, if the public shows negligent behaviour in following Covid-19 guidelines. Our concern is not to impose a lockdown but the public should cooperate with us."

“We are thinking not to allow the public to celebrate Nagarapanchami and Ganesh Chaturthi in public places and in mass gatherings. Decisions will be taken in meetings held along with elected representatives. The public can celebrate festivals at their homes. In the next meeting, a decision will be taken of allowing only 50 people in marriages. If people gather in huge numbers, the district administration will take strict action,” he said.

The DC also said that as per the guidelines of the state government, people coming from the bordering state or from Kerala, will be only allowed with RT-PCR negative report. He said, “We have directed the same to the railway officials. Health workers will also examine the commuters. We are thinking of restricting inter-state travel. We will take some of the prominent decisions in the meeting to come up. We are thinking of providing passes to those who travel on a daily basis and they will be examined once in a week.

"The district administration is seriously thinking about restricting inter-district travelling. For the past two days, the positivity rate is about 5.76 to 5.11%. A week ago, the positivity rate was about 4.6%. If the positivity rate increases above 5%, strict measures will be taken. People should follow all protocols strictly,” he said.