Mangaluru : The Dakshina Kannada district administration on Thursday ordered for purchasing essentials to between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. on weekdays with immediate effect and complete closure of all establishments on Saturdays and Sundays except healthcare and pharmacy facilities as against the window of 6 a.m. and noon prescribed by the State Disaster Management Authority.

Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra said that online delivery agencies such as Swiggy and Zomato will be allowed to operate till 11 p.m. No marriages and other functions will be allowed after midnight on May 15. Vehicles moving around unnecessarily will be seized. Containing the spread of the disease has become difficult as people are moving around unnecessarily during the relaxation window of 6 a.m. to noon and hence, the further restrictions, he said.

The notification further said that the weekend curfew will be between 9 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday. Only essential services and establishments working for 24 x 7 services will be allowed to operate. Construction work will be allowed only where workers are available on site.

Earlier, in a meeting chaired by district in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary in Mangaluru on Thursday, Mr. Poojary said that further restrictions on the movement of people has been ordered as the number of new cases has not come down even after eight days of curfew.

Asking officials to strictly bar unnecessary movement of vehicles after 10 a.m. on weekdays, Mr. Poojary said that vehicles taking patients to hospitals and those to the vaccination centres should be allowed movement. State BJP president and Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and a few MLAs from the district participated in the meeting.