With Punjab witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced extension of night curfew to the entire state and ordered a ban on political gatherings. Singh said those violating the ban on political gatherings, including leaders, will be booked under the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemics Diseases Act. The chief minister said night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, which was till now imposed in 12 districts, will be extended to all 22 districts of the state.
Wearing masks has been made mandatory for all government employees while in office, an official statement said, while detailing the fresh set of restrictions imposed as the number of Covid-19 cases continued to remain high in the state. These restrictions, coupled with the ones imposed earlier, which include closure of schools and educational institutions, shall remain effective till April 30.
However, there was some respite for shop owners in malls, as the chief minister allowed entry of 10 people per shop at any given time, as against the earlier order of not allowing more than 100 people in the entire mall at one time. This would imply that 200 people will be allowed in a mall with 20 shops at any given time, said the statement. Punjab had on Tuesday reported 62 more fatalities due to Covid-19, pushing the toll to 7,216 while the state had witnessed 2,924 more corona virus cases, taking the infection tally to 2,57,057.
