Punjab Extends Night Curfew By 1 Hour, Shuts Bars, Cinemas, Gyms

Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Punjab government on Monday announced stricter curbs, including extension of night curfew by an hour and closure of bars, cinema halls, gyms, spas, coaching centres and sports complexes in the state till April 30.

The fresh restrictions will come into effect from Tuesday, officials said, adding that curfew timings will now be from 8 pm to 5 am, instead of the earlier 9 pm to 5 am.

The new restrictions, which also include closure of all malls, shops and markets on Sundays, coupled with the ones imposed earlier, will remain in effect till April 30, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said after a COVID review meeting.

Restaurants and hotels will remain open but only for takeaway and home delivery from Monday to Saturday.

Gatherings of more than 20 people, including weddings and cremations, have also been banned across the state. Prior approval of the district administration is needed for all gatherings of more than 10 persons, except for cremation, a government statement said.

Rates for RT-PCR tests and Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) by private labs have been reduced to Rs 450 and Rs 300 respectively (with additional charges for home collection), in a bid to promote increased testing, it said.

The chief minister also ordered that people flying into Punjab should have a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours. Otherwise, they would have to undergo RAT testing at the airports.

He also instructed that people who have attended large gatherings anywhere (religious/ political/social) be mandatorily home-quarantined for five days and tested as per existing protocols.

The chief minister directed the transport department to restrict the number of passengers in buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws to 50 per cent of the vehicle's capacity.

Mohali district, along with the rest of the tricity, will remain under complete lockdown on Wednesday on the occasion of Ram Navami, to avoid gatherings amid surging COVID-19 cases in the region, Mr Singh said.

The tricity region refers to Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

The chief minister said he has received a request from the Chandigarh Union Territory adviser for a lockdown in Mohali, as part of a lockdown in the entire tricity area, and necessary notification would be issued accordingly.

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