Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Punjab: Schools, colleges to be shut till March 31 amid COVID spike; restrictions in cinema halls, malls

All educational institutions, other than medical and nursing colleges, will remain closed till March 31, with restriction of 50% capacity in cinema halls and not more than 100 people in a mall at any time.

Punjab Schools, colleges to be shut till March 31 amid COVID spike; restrictions in cinema halls, malls-dnm
Author
Chandigarh, First Published Mar 19, 2021, 3:43 PM IST

Clamping down heavily on the fresh Covid surge, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered massive state-wide restrictions beginning Saturday, with closure of educational institutes till March 31 and restrictions on cinema/mall capacities.

All educational institutions, other than medical and nursing colleges, will remain closed till March 31, with restriction of 50% capacity in cinema halls and not more than 100 people in a mall at any time. He appealed to the people to keep social activity in their houses to the bare minimum for the next fortnight to break the transmission chain. Not more than 10 visitors should be entertained in homes, he urged.

In the 11 worst-hit districts, a complete ban has been ordered on all social gatherings and related functions, except for funerals and weddings, which will be allowed with only 20 people in attendance. This will be enforced from Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Punjab School Education Board on March 15 announced the postponement of the final exams of classes 10th and 12th due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. The 12th examination will start on April 10 instead of March 22. At the same time, the 10th examination will be held from May 4 instead of April 9. Holidays have been declared in all government and private schools in 8 districts for classes from 1st to 9th and 11th in Punjab. The students of these classes have been asked to prepare for the examinations by staying at home.

In wake of the spike in new Covid-19 cases, several states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat have re-imposed the restrictive measures in their respective regions. Night curfews have been imposed in nine districts of Punjab, while in over 10 districts of Maharashtra, partial lockdown and night curfews have been re-imposed.

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios