Karnataka Can Go Clubbing From Tonight As Unlock Four Opens Bars At 50 Per Cent Seating Capacity

No liquor could be served in Karnataka for the last over five months as the lockdown ordered the bars shut. Even the restaurants which were granted permission to open could not keep their bars open for customer. But starting today, as unlock 4 sets in, all pubs, clubs and bars in the state will be able to open but will have to adhere to regulations.

As the state announced a fresh state of guidelines on Monday for step-by-step opening of the economy, the state permitted the bars and pubs to open for business but filling only half their seating capacity.

All bars and restaurants had been ordered shut in March. In May, the government relaxed the norms permitting sale of liquor through MRP stores, and microbreweries could give takeaways, followed by orders for clearance of stock held by liquor stores.

The new set of guidelines that were issued on Monday permit the hosting of customers, but the temperature should be regulated at 24-30 degree Celsius, contact-less service and digital mode of payments to be encouraged, and sanitisation of tables to be conducted after every customer. The staff at the clubs would be required to wear masks and gloves.

The state at present has 87,235 active cases that take the tally of the state to a total of 3,42,423, of which over 1.29 lakh cases have been from Bengaluru alone.

The number of recoveries though are said to have been higher than the positive cases, as of yesterday. A total of 7,238 patients discharged from hospitals after treatment, recoveries exceeded new cases at 6,495 in Karnataka.

"The fresh positive cases pushed the state's Covid tally to 3,42,423, including 87,235 active so far, while 2,49,467 were discharged till date, with 7,238 during the last 24 hours," said a state health department official here. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has claimed 5,702 lives across the state since March 8, with 113 during the day.

With inputs from IANS