Punjab: CM Amarinder Singh announces extension of night curfew in 9 districts amid rising COVID cases
CM Amarinder Singh said that, if required, he will go for more stringent measures to limit the Covid-19 spread in the days to come.
FollowAs active Covid-19 cases in the state surge, with daily positivity rate climbing to over five percent, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday extended the night curfew in nine worst-hit districts by two hours daily, by advancing it from 9 pm onwards. Also, he clarified that, if required, he would go for more stringent measures to limit its spread in the days to come.
Night curfew will now be in place from 9pm to 5am, instead of 11pm to 5am, in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar.
"Covid is in a very dangerous situation in Punjab again. Yesterday 2,039 positive cases were reported and there were 35 deaths. A day earlier there were 40 deaths in the state," the Chief Minister said.
At the same time, he clarified that he was not in favour of restricting the movement of the people at religious places.
According to Punjab health authorities, the state has contributed maximum deaths in the country after Maharashtra in recent days. The state's case fatality rate of 3.1% is more than double the national figure of 1.4%.
Singh has also urged the Centre to review the Covid-19 immunisation strategy amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases. He has asked to vaccinate all age groups in selected areas.
The Chief Minister also called for occupation-based immunization for school and college students and teachers, judges, bus drivers, and conductors, etc., to pave the way for normalisation of crucial activities and check super-spreaders.
He advocated the early opening of the courts to end the wait for justice for citizens, and also of schools and colleges to bridge the gap between poor and affluent families in terms of education.
