Weekend curfew in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts lifted 

Bengaluru: With the State witnessing a steady decline in daily COVID-19 caseload, the Government on Monday decided to reopen schools for classes 6 to 8 from Sept.6 in taluks where COVID Test Positivity Rate (TPR) is less than 2 percent. 

The decision was taken at a meeting of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai with senior Cabinet colleagues and members of COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee, amid a growing public demand for reopening of schools for lower classes.

Schools are allowed to accommodate 50 percent of the class strength at a time, which means that students will have to attend classes in two batches  on alternate days. 

Classes will be held for five days a week and classrooms and school premises will be sanitised on Saturdays and Sundays. 

It may be noted that the Government had allowed physical classes for 9th to 12th standards in Schools and Pre-University Colleges from Aug. 23.

In other Cabinet decisions,  the cap for guest attendance at Kalyana Mantaps for marriages and other functions  has been fixed at 400 persons  and meetings, functions and programmes can take place with only 50 percent capacity. 

The weekend curfew in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts has been lifted. The weekend curfew will now remain only in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan and Udupi districts where positivity rate continues to be higher than 2 percent.

Decision on Ganeshotsava on Sept.5

Speaking to presspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Revenue Minister R. Ashok said that following persistent public demands  seeking permission for Ganeshotsava, the Government will hold a high-level meeting on Sept.5, when a decision on allowing Ganeshotsava at public places will be taken. Maintaining that the Government is treading cautiously on Ganeshotsava demands, especially in the wake of possible third wave of COVID attack, he said that a final decision on allowing Ganeshotsava will be taken after yet another round of discussions with Expert Committee. 

Pointing out that the Ganeshotsava issue is an emotional one, Ashok said that the Deputy Commissioners and SPs have been instructed to hold talks with associations and organisations on public Ganeshotsava celebrations and submit a report. The Government will go through these reports and take a decision depending upon the COVID situation, he added.

The Minister further said  that COVID has not spread among students after the commencement of physical classes for standards 9 to 12 and only 14 students from across the State have so far tested positive for the virus. 

Meanwhile, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education B.C. Nagesh said in Bengaluru that 70 percent of the students have started attending physical classes and Government Schools have been reporting 99 percent attendance on an average. Asserting that all precautionary and safety measures have been taken to check the spread of the virus, he said that with all  COVID SOPs in place, there is no confusion among parents and students.