Punjab announces weekend lockdown, night curfew till August 31
In view of the increasing cases of Corona infection in Punjab, once again strict restrictions have been imposed. Now, there will be a night curfew in Punjab daily from 7 pm to 5 am with weekend lockdown. Only 50% of the total capacity of passengers in buses and only 3 passengers in cars will be able to travel. In the state, except for wedding ceremonies and funerals, all other mass attendance programs will be banned till 31 August. All these restrictions will come into effect from Friday.
CM Captain Amarinder Singh said that Punjab is currently undergoing a ‘Health Emergency’. So far 920 people have died in the state from Corona. Every death hurts them. In such a situation, it has become very important to implement these restrictions to save the lives of the people and to keep the pace of the economy.
He said that from Friday, only 50 percent employees of the total capacity will work in all government and private offices in Punjab. The remaining 50% employees will work from their homes. CM directed that all the officers will ensure that all government related work related to public are made online. Due to which people do not have to go round government offices for small tasks. Also, the government employees also could not get corona infected by coming in contact with too many people.
The CM said that the restrictions on the operation of vehicles have been re-enforced in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and SAS Nagar (Mohali), most affected by the corona infection. Buses and other public transport have been fixed to carry only 50% of the total capacity and 3 people travel in cars. In order to reduce congestion on the roads in these five districts, only 50% of non-essential shops will be allowed to open daily. These five districts account for 80% of the total corona cases in Punjab.
He instructed DGP Dinkar Gupta to strictly avoid crowds by strictly enforcing the Covid protocol at wedding ceremonies and funerals. Also, till August 31, all kinds of political activities should be stopped completely. The CM directed the DGP to strictly ban all demonstrations and conferences in the state till this month. The CM also urged his party Punjab Congress to cancel all its activities by 31 August.
The CM directed the Health Department to carry out the campaign and make people aware to avoid corona infection. He said that at present, corona infection has spread more in urban areas of the state. But gradually new cases of corona infection are also coming in the countryside. He said that if needed, the movement of people can be banned again in the state as before.
