Punjab Lockdown: State Eases Covid Restrictions; Restaurants, Cinemas To Open At 50% Capacity From Tomorrow

The Punjab government has permitted restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, fast food outlets, dhabas, gyms and cinema halls to reopen and re-operate with 50 per cent capacity.

Punjab Lockdown

Chandigarh: With the coronavirus cases taking a dip in the state of Punjab, Chief Minister Amrinder Singh on Tuesday announced the easing up of restrictions, allowing economic activities to resume from Wednesday. 

The Punjab government issuing the order on Tuesday permitted restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, fast food outlets, dhabas, gyms and cinema halls to reopen and re-operate with 50 per cent capacity. However, these opening are subject to all the employees having received atleast their first dose of vaccination.

The cap on the advisable number of people in gathering like weddings, cremations, etc was also lifted to 50 persons.

The statement also added that bars, pubs and ‘ahatas’ will continue to remain closed as well as all educational institutions.

Along with the new guidelines taking place from immediate effect, the orders also talked about the restrictions which will be carried on till further notice. The daily night curfew which is in place from 8 PM to 5 PM in the state will remain unchanged along with the weekend curfew from 8 PM on Saturdays up to 5 PM on Mondays.

The fresh orders will remain in effect till June 25. The easing up of restrictions will be accompanied by authorities keeping a strict watch over the safety protocols like social/physical distancing, wearing of face masks, etc being followed.

District Authorities have been asked to determine opening timings of non-essential shops, including on Sunday, ensuring that crowds are avoided. 

The above developments come with the Covid positivity rate in the state coming down to 2 percent. The state had hit its second wave peak with 9,100 cases on May 8 which came down to a low of 629 on June 14 taking the infection tally to 5,88,525. However, the number of active cases dropped to 11,913 from 12,981 on Sunday.