All cities under night curfew

CHANDIGARH: Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday announced extension of the night curfew from 9pm to 5pm to all cities across the state. The decision has been taken, said Amarinder, following spike in Covid cases and the impending peak in the coming weeks.

During his Facebook Live programme #Askcaptain, Amarinder said night-time curfew will now be applicable to all cities, with exemption for industries. The CM also announced to divide cities in sectors with a nodal officer for contact tracing to assist the health teams.

Amarinder also announced weekend (Saturday & Sunday) ‘stay at home’ in Ludhiana, Patiala and Jalandhar for the next fortnight, after which the situation will be reviewed.

It has been decided that every marriage palace, restaurant, office, where more than 10 people gather, will appoint one Covid monitor to ensure full compliance of masks, sanitisation and social distancing, said the chief minister, at his weekly Facebook Live #Askcaptain session.

The chief minister warned that teams will come and inspect these places, and violators will be penalised.

Further, all persons who have high social contact will be tested within the coming week, and Corona conquerors (who have recovered) from health, police and other departments will be put on frontline duty, said the chief minister.

The directions came amid continuing increase in Covid cases, with the last 7 days reporting an average of 1,000 a day.