Milder lockdown replaces curfew in Punjab till May 31

CONTAINMENT ZONES WILL BE STRICTLY SEALED AND THE DETAILS OF ALL RELAXATIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MONDAY

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday announced to replace the curfew with lockdown in the state till May 31, while indicating resumption of limited public transport and maximum possible relaxations in the non-containment zones from May 18 onwards.

However, the containment zones will be strictly sealed and the details of all relaxations will be announced by Monday, taking into account the new guidelines of the Centre for Lockdown 4.0. He, however, made it clear that educational institutes will continue to remain closed for the safety of children.

In a live Facebook interaction, as part of his #AskCaptain initiative, the CM said the daily number of new cases in the state has come down sharply in the last four days or so, after an upsurge due to the arrival of pilgrims from Nanded, students from Kota, and labourers. He thanked the people for their cooperation, enabling the state to control the Covid cases, whose doubling rate was now 44 days, much better than several states, such as Maharashtra’s 11 days. The numbers could go up as more migrant labourers and NRIs enter Punjab, he warned, adding that 60,000 Punjabis from other states and 20,000 from abroad have registered for return.