With the Ugadi festival approaching, the district administration in Mysuru has issued an advisory for all travelers arriving from Bengaluru, who plan on staying at resorts and hotels, to carry a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours.
While there is no bar on entry to Mysuru from Bengaluru, a negative test report for staying at hotels will be mandatory from 10 April. The same restriction has been imposed on tourist spots, movie theatres, marriage halls and recreational clubs.
Sources close to Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri said the advisory had been issued in light of the expected rush of visitors for the Ugadi festival. Karnataka will celebrate the festival on 13 April, but visitors are likely to start pouring into Mysuru from 10 April and remain till 20 April.
In neighbouring Kodagu district, tourist spots have been shut for visitors in the light of the surge in COVID-19 cases in Karnataka.
“The DC has issued this advisory as Bengaluru has had more than 4,000 cases while Mysuru has had 200-odd daily cases in the past two weeks. A lot of people, including those who hail from the district and tourists, are expected to arrive starting from the weekend,” a source said.
The source explained that even among the 200 daily cases, 90 percent are from the city areas. “So, the idea is to prevent the spread of fresh infection in rural areas. We can’t impose lockdown again as it is not feasible in the long run. We can only ensure that we try to impose curbs in a realistic manner,” they added.
On 3 April, the Kodagu district administration had issued an order on the same grounds for temporary closure of tourist spots in the district. Deputy Commissioner Charulatha Somal had said this order was applicable until 20 April. The curb includes barring entry to popular tourist spots, including Raja’s Seat.
(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission)
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