HARYANA SET FOR A WEEK-LONG LOCKDOWN

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government on Sunday announced a lockdown in all 22 districts of the state till May 9, prompted by an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases, which crossed the 100,000 mark, and deaths. Health minister Anil Vij announced the government’s decision on social media platform Twitter, stating that the entire state would be under lockdown from May 3.

The announcement came a day before a weekend curfew imposed in the nine worst-affected districts of the state, Panchkula, Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat, Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts, was set to end at 5am on Monday.

Haryana on Sunday recorded its highest death toll over 24 hours, with 145 deaths taking the toll to 4,486, while 13,322 new infections took the case tally to 514,888.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held meetings with the district administration officials in Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Sonepat and Bhiwani on steps to check spread of the infection. He said everyone must follow Covid-related guidelines.

The chief minister appealed to all to refrain from creating an atmosphere of fear and urged them to instead play a positive role in this fight against the pandemic.

He said, “We should move forward with the thought ‘Jaan Hai toh Jahan Hai’ and continue this fight against Covid-19.”