Karnataka government says night curfew preemptive, experts differ

The night curfew, set to kick off from 10 pm on Tuesday, is intended to preempt any surge in cases arising from celebrations for the New Year. However, the move is not without controversy.

The curfew was recommended by the state’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to “ensure that the present daily reporting of about 300 cases and the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) of 0.4 per cent are kept stable.”

The TAC had recommended a four-night curfew from December 30 to January 2, from 7 pm to 5 am. The government has instead opted for a 10-night curfew from Tuesday night to January 7, from 10 pm to 5 am.

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that the curfew will help to determine how the virus will behave in the next 10 days. “The virus cycle runs for 10-14 days. We will see if cases increase during this cycle. Even though Omicron is said to be mild, if cases increase dramatically it could result in a bed shortage and we are trying to avoid that situation in the larger interests of the people,” he said.

Also Read | Night curfew in Karnataka for 10 days from December 28

When asked if the curfew will prevent a surge in cases over the New Year, Dr M K Sudarshan, chairman of the TAC, said: “Yes, of course. In the west now, some are imposing lockdowns (of different types),” he said.

Elaborating on this, another member of the TAC, Prof (Dr) Pradeep Badanur, head of the Department of Epidemiology at Nimhans, said that a night curfew will reduce the spread of infections and transmission.

“It has the added advantage of signalling an alert to the public that they should be cautious,” he added, pointing out holiday revelry such as alcohol consumption in groups has the end result of diluting Covid Appropriate Behavior.

However, not all agree that a night curfew is necessary at the moment. Noted public health expert and epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya said that different stages of test positivity rate require different measures.

“At the moment, since December 2 till there have been 560-odd Omicron cases in India. In the same period, there have been some 1.75 lakh Covid-19 cases also recorded - most of which were likely caused by Delta. Cases may rise over the next few days, but a balance needs to be struck to ensure continued economic activity,” he said.

European context

Experts also noted that the idea of a night curfew has a European context where there is a thriving nightlife culture. “Such restrictions are not particularly useful in the Indian context, especially in rural areas. A better measure would have been the imposition of Section 144 to reduce crowds, instead of having a blanket curfew,” Dr Lahariya said.

He added that night curfew represent a patronizing approach because the government believes it needs such measures to remind people about the dangers of Covid-19.

Dr Badanur said that the net effect of the curfew will only be seen in two to three weeks. “That is when we will know if it has been a success,” he said.

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