With the novel coronavirus cases showing an alarming upward trend, the Punjab government on Thursday decided to extend the weekend lockdown and impose daily night curfew from 7 pm to 5 pm in 167 cities and towns in the state till August 31.
The emergency measures, which will come into force from Saturday, also include banning of all public gatherings except weddings and funerals.
Addressing a video conference meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the state, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said “war-like preparedness” is necessary to deal with the spike in cases.
"Enough is enough. We need to be tough without affecting the state's economy," Singh said.
The government and private offices will work at 50 per cent capacity till the end of this month. The chief minister directed the officials concerned to restrict public visitors in government officials and to encourage the use of online grievance redressal system.
He also directed DGP Dinkar Gupta to strictly enforce compliance of rules with regard to the number of persons allowed to attend weddings and funerals.
In the five worst-affected districts— Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and SAS Nagar—only 50 per cent shops selling non-essential goods will be allowed to open.
Buses and public transport will run at 50 per cent capacity while private cars cannot have more than three passengers per vehicle.
Asserting that the state was in an “emergency health situation”, Singh said the projections for the coming weeks are grim.
Punjab has recorded 36,083 cases with 920 deaths so far.
