The call given by the Kodagu district Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a voluntary lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19 has evoked good response in the district.
A majority of the shops remained open on Saturday from 6 am to 2 pm.
People started arriving at the shops early in the morning in Madikeri to carry out the business.
About 50% of the shops had voluntarily closed after 2 pm. By 3 pm, 90% of the shops downed their shutters. Even the movement of people in Madikeri town to reduced after 2 pm. Bus stands, Indira Gandhi Circle, Thimmayya Circle, and Mahadevapete road wore a deserted look.
A trader said, “We have already incurred loss following the lockdown for the last three months. However, Covid-19 could not be controlled. There has been a surge in Covid cases in the district. In the interest of the safety of the public, the shops have been closed”.
Kodagu JD(S) unit president K M Ganesh has urged the authorities to supply necessary ration items to the areas that have been sealed down. People in the sealed down areas are facing hardships, he added.
He said the rise in Covid cases in the district had led to panic among people. With the closure of shops in sealed down areas, people are struggling to procure essential commodities. Officials should visit the restricted areas and look into the needs of the people.
4 new cases in Kodagu
Four new Covid-19 cases were reported in the district on Saturday. With this, the active cases have risen to 37 in Kodagu.
According to Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy, of the four, one has inter-district travel history to Bengaluru while two others are primary contacts of the infected persons. One of the infected is a health worker.
A 33-year-old woman, who has travel history to Bengaluru, has been tested positive. A health worker from Subhash Nagara in Murnadu, a 14-year-old girl, who was the primary contact of an infected man from Shirangala and an eight-year-old boy, who was who was also a primary contact of an infected man from Huluse have been tested positive for Covid-19, Annies added.
The total recorded Covid cases in the district is 40. The containment zones in the district have increased to 19.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / June 27th, 2020
