Covid To Spoil New Year's Eve For Punjab? Night Curfew Extended Till Jan 1; Curbs On Gatherings At Events Get Stricter

Amid the fear of the second wave of coronavirus spread, the Punjab government has extended night curfew till Jan 1 while also imposing a new limit on the number of people at indoor and outdoor gatherings during events. Know about it here.

Representative Image (Photo credit FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has ordered an extension of the night curfew in the state till January 1, an official statement informed.  The earlier decision imposed the night curfew from December 1 to December 15, timings being 10 pm to 5 am. The move was subsequent to the fear of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the state. However, there are concerns regarding curbs enforced over weddings and parties. Addressing the same, Capt. Amarinder Singh directed DGP Dinkar Gupta to strictly oversee the restrictions for events and impose penalties on the hosts in case of violations. A restriction of 100 people on indoor and 250 people on outdoor gatherings at marriage functions and parties has been ordered in the state till January 1, the statement informed. The prior restriction allowed 200 for indoor gatherings and had no upper limit for the number of people at outdoor gatherings. The new limits aim to ensure social distancing at events. The Punjab CM had stressed the need to ramp up testing in the containment and micro-containment zones and ensure 100 percent sampling. Notably, the health department has been asked to monitor the health of farmers returning from Delhi's bordering areas after participating in the anti-agrarian laws protests. This becomes important in view of exposure risk as the national capital was undergoing the third wave of Covid spread. Additionally, those above the age of 70 with comorbidities cannot be kept in home quarantine especially if adequate medical facilities are not available at home. During the virtual meeting, Health Secretary Hussan Lal pointed out that a large number of Coronavirus deaths have been reported from home-isolation cases. The health secretary said that around 35 lakh samples have been tested for the infection so far in the state, of which 1.5 lakh were reported to be positive. "Though the second wave in Punjab has so far been mild, the health authorities are fully geared to tackle any eventuality," he said. (With Agency Inputs) WATCH | Yuvraj Singh distances himself from father Yograj's statement