Punjab extends night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am to all cities

CHANDIGARH: In the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday announced extension of the night curfew in all cities from 9 pm to 5 am, along with a slew of other measures to control the spread of the pandemic.

The night-time curfew will now be applicable to all cities, with the exemption of industries, said the chief minister, while announcing sector-based division of big cities, with a nodal officer to be appointed in each for contact tracing to assist health teams.

On August 7, Singh ordered night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am in the worst affected cities of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala.

Currently, night curfew in the state remains in force from 11 pm to 5 am.

Singh also announced weekends as 'stay at home' in order to avoid unnecessary movement and socialising in Ludhiana, Patiala and Jalandhar for the next fortnight after which the situation will be reviewed, an official statement said.

In another major decision, it was decided that in every marriage palace, restaurant, office, where more than 10 people gather, a 'Covid Monitor' would be appointed to ensure full compliance of wearing masks, sanitisation and social distancing, said the chief minister at his weekly Facebook Live #AskCaptain session.

He warned that teams will inspect these places and violators will be penalised.

On Friday, Punjab reported 25 deaths due to coronavirus, pushing the death toll to 731, while the steepest single-day spike of 1,077 cases took the state's infection tally to 29,013.

Singh said people who have high social contact will be tested within the coming week, and "corona conquerors" (who have recovered from the disease) from health, police and other departments will be put on frontline duty, the chief minister said.

The directions came amid continuing increase in COVID-19 cases, with the last seven days reporting an average of 1,000 a day.

The maximum cases last week came from Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Mohali.

Singh said increasing mortality can be checked if those infected go for early testing and report to hospitals for treatment within 72 hours.

Treatment should begin within this period if lives are to be saved, he said, adding that the attitude of "koyi gal nahin, theek ho jawange" or "Mausam di gal hai" (of taking things easy) does not work.

"Don't be a doctor yourself. Leave it to the doctors to diagnose the problem and suggest treatment," he appealed to the people.

He also said that there should be no stigma attached to coronavirus.

"Don't feel shy in getting yourself tested," the chief minister said, adding that with the addition of four new testing facilities, a total of 13,000 tests are being done a day, and the capacity will touch 20,000 per day by the end of the month.

Singh said he has already directed the Health Department to test all people in micro-containment zones within three days.

Expressing concern over the stigma that is continuing to prevent people from going for testing, he appealed to the heads of all religious and political organisations to lead by example by getting themselves tested.

He said he got tested again on Friday.

Though cases of violation of mandatory wearing of masks have come down to some extent, people need to continue to take stringent precautions which is the only solution, the chief minister said.