Punjab bans public transport, limits gatherings to 20

nCHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Thursday decided to suspend public transport from midnight Friday, postpone school board examinations and restrict public gatherings to less than 20 to force residents to stay indoors to stanch the spread of coronavirus in the state.

A group of ministers (GOM) formed to monitor the situation announced the measures to prevent people from moving out of their houses without any need to do so.“public transport, including government and private buses, auto-rickshaws and tempos, will be suspended from the midnight of Friday,” local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra, who heads the GOM, said.

Punjab is the first state in the country to announce a ban on public transport; taxis, however, have been exempted from the ban.

The transport department will run government and corporation buses to ferry their staff to ensure that essential services are not disrupted.

The minister also announced the postponement of all board examinations of Classes 10 and 12 until March 31, saying fresh dates would be unveiled after a review of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam schedule.

The government suspended all public dealings at its offices across the state with immediate effect. Another major decision was to ban the serving of food in hotels, restaurants and dhabas; only takeaways and home delivery services will be allowed. Banquet halls and marriage venues have also been shut. “

All these decisions have been taken as the time to issue only advisories has passed,” minister Mohindra said.

The GOM also decided to restrict gatherings at functions such as marriages and funerals to 20 people.