The Punjab government on Monday said all existing restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19, including weekend lockdown, will be in place in all 167 municipal towns of the state till the end of September.
Night curfew will also continue in the cities from 7 pm to 5 am during the same period, it added. The decision has been taken in due consultation with the Centre, as required by the ‘Unlock 4.0’ guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, an official spokesperson said here.
The Centre had on August 29 said that state governments should not impose any local lockdown outside containment zones without prior consultation with the central government.
The ban on all social, political and religious gatherings and protests and demonstrations will continue to remain in force throughout the state, while gatherings relating to weddings and funerals shall be limited to 30 and 20 people respectively, the spokesperson said.
There will be a lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays in the municipal areas, while movement of individuals for all non-essential activities shall remain prohibited between 7 pm and 5 am within municipal limits of all the cities of Punjab throughout the week, as per the orders of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
Movement of students and others in connection with all kinds of examinations, admission/entrance tests conducted by universities, boards, public service commissions and other institutions has been excluded from the restrictions, the official said.
The chief minister has directed district authorities to facilitate the movement of such persons. Religious places have been allowed to stay open on all days up to 6.30 pm, as have been restaurants (including those in malls) and liquor vends. Shops and malls, except those dealing in essential commodities, will be allowed to remain open till 6.30 pm from Monday to Friday but will be closed in all cities on Saturdays and Sundays.
Shops dealing in essentials will be open even on the weekend till 6.30 pm, said the spokesperson. The restrictions on day and time do not apply to hotels.
The chief minister has directed district authorities to strictly comply with these guidelines, said the spokesperson. He has asked the police to ensure strict action against violators.
The spokesperson said essential activities and services, movement of people and goods on national and state highways, inter-state and intra-state movement of people and unloading of cargo and travel of people to their destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and flights will be permitted.
Essential services include those related to health, agricultural and related activities, dairying and fishery activities, banks, ATMs, stock markets, insurance companies, on-line teaching, public utilities, public transport, industry in multiple-shifts, construction industry, offices both private and government etc.
The existing restrictions on passengers in vehicles will also continue to remain in force, with only three people, including the driver, allowed in four-wheelers, and all buses and public transport vehicles to allow sitting for only half (50 per cent) capacity with no one standing.
Further, government and private offices shall operate with only 50 per cent staff present. The state government, however, has also ordered relaxation with respect to opening of shops in the worst-affected cities of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mohali.
The condition of only 50 per cent shops dealing in non-essential items being open on a given day in these cities has now been removed, said the spokesperson.
Punjab has recorded 53,992 cases of COVID-19 infections and 1,453 fatalities.
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