Karnataka govt to ease many lockdown restrictions after April 20
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to ease many lockdown restrictions after April 20, including allowing industries to operate and for thirty three per cent staff in the IT-BT sector to attend offices, to give a thrust to economic activities.
"However the easing of restrictions will not be permitted in COVID-19 affected areas in the state which will be declared as containment zones," Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa told reporters after chairing a high-level meeting, attended by senior ministers and officials.
"It was decided that there will be no restrictions on the transportation of essential goods, as well as construction materials like gravel, sand, cement and steel," he said. Construction workers will be allowed to stay where they are employed, he added.
The Chief Minister said 33 per cent of the workforce of IT-BT companies would be allowed to attend office after April 20. Industries would be permitted to function in industrial clusters in villages and Special Economic Zones or industrial townships in urban areas, he said.
Inter district movement of vehicles would not be permitted, barring between Ramanagar, Bengaluru urban and Bengaluru rural district. "These three districts will be considered as one district in view of hectic movement of people due to industrial activities, Yediyurappa said.
In the containment zones, an 'incident commander' having magisterial powers would be appointed. He would head a team of police and health officials to ensure there are no violations in the zones. Residents within these zones would not be allowed to come out of their homes and essential items would be supplied to them at their doorsteps, he said.
Among other decisions taken were that there would be no restrictions on use of two wheelers after April 20 and that restrictions on sale of liquor would continue till May 3, he said.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the decline in the number of cases on Saturday.
"One satisfying thing is that there were 36 new cases on April 16.... yesterday it was 44 and it has come down to 12 today. Out of the 371 cases, 266 are active cases because 92 people have recovered and 13 people died," he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
