News Analysis India

Tag: Night curfew

  • Night curfew in four Himachal districts from April 27, negative COVID report a must to enter state

    By PTI
    SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government imposed a night curfew in four districts from April 27 to May 10 and made it mandatory for people visiting the state to produce a negative coronavirus report.

    The decisions were taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of CM Jai Ram Thakur.

    The night curfew will be imposed in Kangra, Una, Solan and Sirmour and the restrictions will remain in force from 10 pm to 5 am daily during the period, an official spokesperson said.

    The four districts currently have over 7,330 coronavirus patients, which is 57 per cent of the 12,833 cases in the state, according to the Health Department data updated till 2 pm on Sunday.

    While Kangra has 2,805 cases, Solan has 2,264 patients, followed by Sirmaur (1,259) and Una (1,002), the data revealed.

    However, the state government has not taken any decision of imposing a night curfew in Shimla, Mandi and Hamirpur districts, each having over 1,000 active cases, the spokesperson said.

    It has been made mandatory for visitors and state residents to produce a negative report of coronavirus test, conducted not earlier than 72 hours before entering the state, he said.

    In case Himachal residents do not undergo an RT-PCR test before entering the state, they will have to remain in home isolation for 14 days.

    However, they have been given the option of getting themselves tested after seven days of home isolation.

    If they test negative, then they will not be required to remain in quarantine, the spokesperson said.

    At the meeting, it was also decided that civic bodies, both in urban and rural areas, will be closely involved in effective enforcement of COVID guidelines.

    They will be empowered to initiate legal action against the violators, the spokesperson added.

    It was also decided that a special task force will be constituted at the local-level for effective enforcement of the guidelines during all religious, social, political and cultural gatherings.

    Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Technical Education and Tribal Development Minister Dr Ram Lal Markanda, Health Minister Dr Rajiv Saizal, Forests Minister Rakesh Pathania, Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Additional Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena and Secretary (Health) Amitabh Awasthi were present in the meeting.

  • Night curfew in four Himachal districts from April 27

    By PTI
    SHIMLA: Keeping in view a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases, the Himachal Pradesh government imposed a night curfew in its four districts from April 27 to May 10.

    According to an official statement, the decision was taken in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

    The night curfew will be imposed in Kangra, Una, Solan and Sirmour from April 27 to May 10 and the restrictions will remain in force from 10 pm to 5 am daily during the period, said the statement.

    It was also made mandatory for visitors and state residents to produce a negative report of coronavirus test, conducted not earlier than 72 hours before entering the state.

    In case Himachal residents do not undergo an RT-PCR test before entering the state, they will have to remain in home isolation for 14 days.

     

  • Uttarakhand tightens restrictions in view of COVID surge, imposes night curfew

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has ordered closure of markets in urban areas barring shops dealing in essential commodities from 2 pm onwards and changing of the night curfew timing across the state from 9 pm to 7 pm.

    The order aimed at checking the spread of COVID-19 comes into effect from Wednesday, Chief Secretary Om Prakash said.

    The night curfew timing for all 13 districts has been revised from 9 pm-5 pm to 7 pm-5 pm, it said.

    The order of closing shops and business establishments also applies to shopping malls, he said.

    Considering the likelihood of people from Uttarakhand working in Delhi returning home in the wake of a six-day lockdown in the national capital, online registration and a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours has been made mandatory for the returnees.

    All schools, degree colleges, institutes and coaching centres have  been closed.

    The revised standard operating procedures (SOPs) also makes it mandatory for all modes of public transport, including buses and auto rickshaws, besides facilities like cinema halls, restaurants, bars and gyms to run at half their seating capacity.

    According to the new SOPs, not more than 100 people can gather for religious, political and social functions barring the ongoing Kumbh Mela where the restrictions announced earlier will remain effective.

    It orders complete closure of swimming pools and spas in all districts.

    Organising religious, political and social functions will be completely prohibited in containment and micro containment zones.

    Uttarakhand reported its highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day on Tuesday with 3,012 people testing positive for the infection.

  • 10 pm to 6 am night curfew extended to all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir 

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday announced a night curfew to all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. In view of the consistent surge in the coronavirus cases in the region, the administration further ordered only 50% of shops to remain open on alternate days. 

    Taking to his official Twitter account, Manoj Sinha’s office announced that the night curfew will be from 10 pm to 6 am and it shall be extended to all municipal or urban local body limits of all the 20 districts of the state. 

    “Only 50% shops in Market complexes / Bazaars / Malls within the Municipal limits / urban local body limits shall be open on an alternate basis through a rotation system,” announced Lt Governor’s office.

    The night curfew was already enforced in eight districts earlier. 

    Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday, recorded 1516 fresh cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. Of the new cases, 768 were reported from Jammu and 748 from the Kashmir region. 

    Winter capital Jammu accounted for 451 cases and Srinagar, the summer capital, recorded 383 cases.

    As of now, Jammu and Kashmir has 12164 active cases. Of these, 7351 cases are in Valley and 4813 in Jammu

    In view of the surge in Covid cases, Lt Governor administration has also decided to permit public transport (matadors/mini-buses/buses etc) in Jammu and Kashmir to ply only at 50% of its authorized seating capacity.

    The District Superintendents of Police have been directed to ensure compliance to this effect.

    The District Magistrates have been asked to devise a mechanism to implement the new guidelines for market and malls, preferably in consultation with local market associations.

  • COVID crisis: Curfew extended in Bhopal, Indore; crematoriums see massive rush

    By PTI
    INDORE: The administration in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district has extended the partial lockdown it had imposed in light of the COVID-19 spread till April 23, an official said on Saturday.

    The partial lockdown has been in effect in the district since April 12.

    District collector Manish Singh in an order said the “corona curfew” in the limits of the urban bodies’ in the district has been extended till April 23 due to the high rate of infection.

    According to the order, people will be allowed to buy every day essentials during the lockdown.

    Despite the provision of 7,000 beds in local hospitals, the district is falling short of providing beds to COVID-19, the order stated.

    According to the health department, the district has recorded 87,625 COVID-19 cases, including 1,040 casualties so far.

    The district currently has 9,848 active cases.

    The ‘corona curfew’ imposed in Bhopal to tackle the surge in COVID-19 cases has similarly been extended till April 26, an official said on Saturday.

    Bhopal on Saturday recorded 1,669 COVID-19 cases, taking the toll here to 66,891.

    Bhopal’s corona curfew, the state government’s term for the restrictions short of a lockdown imposed in several cities, was set to end on April 19.

    It has been extended in Bhopal and Berasia till 6am on April 26, an order by Collector Avinash Lavaniya said.

    Essential services will be exempted from the corona curfew and people arriving in the city or leaving by rail, bus etc will not be inconvenienced, officials said.

    Meanwhile, some private hospitals have handed over their establishments and staff to the administration in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior district to make arrangements for additional beds for infected patients, an official said on Saturday.

    At least 12 private hospitals and institutions have handed over their establishments and paramedical staff to the administration to provide free care for coronavirus patients, district collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh said.

    COVID-19 care centres have already been set up at six hospitals and others will be started soon, the official said, adding that the move will provide additional 500 beds to infected persons.

    The district administration has appointed nodal officers to provide better treatment to coronavirus patients as per the protocol, he said.

    A referral system is also being developed so that patients can be admitted to super-specialty hospitals if their condition deteriorates, he said.

    There are around 2,000 beds for COVID-19 patients in city hospitals, it was stated.

    Gwalior on Friday recorded 692 fresh cases, taking the tally of infections in the district 22,848.

    Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded 11,269 COVID-19 cases, the state’s highest single-day spike, taking its tally to 3,95,832, while the day also saw 66 deaths and 6,497 people getting discharged, an official said.

    The toll in MP stands at 4,491 and the recovery count is 3,27,452, leaving it with an active caseload of 63,889, he added.

    The state has recorded 1,00,321 cases and 505 deaths in April so far, the official pointed out.

    “Indore’s caseload rose by 1,659 to touch 87,625, including 1,040 deaths, seven of which took place on Saturday. The tally in Bhopal is 66,891 after it added 1,669 cases. Bhopal’s toll rose by one to touch 671. The active cases in Indore and Bhopal is 10,605 and 8,539 respectively,” the official said.

    With 52,568 samples being examined on Saturday, the number of tests in MP crossed 70.23 lakh.

    Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 3,95,832, new cases 11,269, death toll 4,491, recovered 3,27,452, active cases 63,889, number of tests so far 70,23,077.

    there is also an increase in the number of the urns containing ashes of the dead being kept at the Bhopal’s only crematorium where the last rites of COVID-19 patients are allowed, an office-bearer of the crematorium said on Saturday.

    Bhadbhada Vishramghat’s management committee secretary Mamtesh Sharma told PTI that more than 150 urns containing ashes are currently kept in the lockers at the crematorium even as the number of lockers is being increased to create the space for the storage of at least 500 urns.

    Bhadbhada Vishramghat is the only Hindu crematorium in Bhopal where cremation of COVID-19 victims is allowed.

    However, people are also going to other crematoriums because of the rise in COVID-19 deaths, he said.

    “More than 150 urns are currently kept in lockers here. On average, 10 to 15 urns are currently being kept in the lockers here every day due to the rising number of deaths. This is for the first time when such a large number of urns are being kept in the lockers,” Sharma said.

    He said the renovation of the Bhadbhada Vishramghat was halted due to the pandemic.

    “We are now creating the space for 500 lockers to keep the urns containing ashes. An additional locker room is also being constructed to deal with the situation,” Sharma added.

    He said at least a dozen urns kept inside the lockers contained ashes of those people who had died “during the first wave of COVID-19”, but their kin never turned up to collect them.

    Sharma claimed approximately 1,100 bodies have been cremated at the Vishramghat so far this month.

    “Of them, around 800 bodies were cremated with the COVID-19 protocol,” Sharma said.

    He caimed that 81 bodies were cremated at the Vishramghat on April 16.

    “Of these 81 bodies, 69 were cremated as per the COVID-19 protocol. Of these 69 bodies, 46 bodies were from Bhopal while the rest 23 were from other parts of Madhya Pradesh,” Sharma said.

    On the other hand, the state government put the number of COVID-19 fatalities in Bhopal on Friday at 4 out of the total 60 reported across the state.

    In April so far, Bhopal recorded 38 deaths (from April 1 to April 16), as per the state government’s health bulletin.

    Explaining the difference between the official data on COVID-19 fatalities and the actual number of bodies being brought at crematoriums in the state, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said that the last rites of the suspected coronavirus positive patients were also performed as per the COVID-19 protocols.

    “People are dying due to other causes also,” he had said.

    Minister for Medical Education Vishvas Sarang told reporters that patients from several other districts are coming to Bhopal for the treatment of coronavirus infection, among other things.

    “This is getting reflected in the situation at the crematoriums,” he said.

    Bhopal’s COVID-19 death toll till Friday night stood at 670 while the case count was 65,222.

  • COVID-19 cases spike in Rajasthan but vaccine doses shrink

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: As the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge, Rajasthan recorded a new daily high of 4,401 cases and 18 deaths on Saturday. The capital city is the worst hit and saw 767 new cases on Friday, the highest number of coronavirus cases that Jaipur has ever seen in a day since the start of the pandemic last year.

    Amid the sharply rising cases of COVID-19 in the state, the Rajasthan government has imposed night curfew from Saturday till April 30 in 10 cities – Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Abu Road. The night curfew in Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Abu Road will stay from 8 pm to 6 am but in Udaipur, the curfew will start from 6 pm and last till 6 am.

    Earlier, night curfew was imposed between 10 pm and 6 am till 19 April. The decision to increase the span of curfew and extend the period till April 30 was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to review the Covid-19 situation in the state. CM Gehlot has also directed officials to create ‘micro-containment zones’ in affected cities and ensure “zero-mobility” in those zones to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus.

    With 18 deaths reported on Saturday, the total number of pandemic deaths in the state has now risen to 2,916. As a result, the recovery rate has fallen from 96.35% on March 31 to 92.38%.

    While the number of active cases has gone beyond 27,000, Rajasthan government has also  flagged vaccine shortage in the state and asked for an ‘immediate’ supply of doses. Stating that the vaccines will run out of stock in the state in two days, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday requesting for 30 lakh doses.

    Vaccine centres in several districts have been forced to close down. The situation in Jaipur was confirmed by CMHO Narottam Sharma who said, “ we have a severe shortage of doses. As a result, 262 of 380 centres in Jaipur have now been closed down. We only have 10,000 doses left though we need about 60,000 doses per day.” 

    Talking to TNIE, Raghuraj Singh, the Project Director for Immunisation in the State Health Department, remarked, “we are just left with 5 lakh vaccine doses now and the Centre has told us to send only around 4 lakh vaccine doses by evening on Sunday. It is very difficult to cope up since the daily vaccination has gone up to around 6 lakhs a day. Ideally, we should have a buffer for seven days and we don’t know when we will get the next supply”

    Besides vaccine shortage, demand for Remdesivir that is used to treat Covid patients has shot up. Though the state had given 10,000 Remdesivir injections to Punjab three weeks ago, now the Health Department is left with only 20,000 doses and has sent special requests to medical suppliers to provide Remdesivir doses on priority.

    In addition, CM Gehlot countered the Centre’s claim of no shortage of Covid-19 vaccine in the country and even issued a statement to demand that the Centre should clarify the status of vaccine doses in public. “No politics is being done in the work of vaccination but it is clear from the facts that there is a shortage of vaccines in many states. The central government should clarify the status of vaccine doses in public,” Gehlot stated.

    CM Gehlot further stated that PM Modi has called for celebrating ‘Teeka Utsav’ from Jyotiba Phule Jayanti on April 11 to Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14 but the vaccine is not available in many states. Gehlot said that Union ministers Amit Shah and Ravi Shankar Prasad have made factually false claims by saying there is no shortage of vaccines.

     

  • ‘Won’t have any other option than to starve’: Night curfew adversely affects wedding business in UP

    By ANI
    LUCKNOW: Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state, the administration has imposed strict restrictions like night curfew and restrictions on attendees at weddings, but this has adversely affected the event industry which is still recovering from the aftermath of lockdown.

    The night curfew imposed in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, coupled with the Delhi government’s guidelines is either affecting the sales of wedding accessories or resulting in the cancellation of the booking of banquets, halls for wedding functions.

    “Speaking to ANI, Pramod Chaturvedi, general manager of a hotel Clarks Avadh said, “It is not possible to attend guests with the night curfew restrictions, people will not come to attend. We are receiving huge calls from our customers about the cancellation. We are trying to convince them that restrictions are only for a week. But in case these reactions will continue, there will not be an option rather than cancellation.”

    According to the people involved in businesses linked to weddings, the night curfew imposed in the city has adversely affected them.

    “How can I finish my work at any function by 9 pm (when curfew comes into effect)? Customers are canceling orders,” a horse-drawn carriages operator said on Thursday.

    “Last year lockdown collapsed our business, we somehow managed to run our houses with our savings and as soon as the wedding season started this year, these restrictions are again affecting our business. We would not have any other option than to starve,” said a wedding music band operator.

    After investing huge capital in wedding clothes, shop owners are worried about the sale and afraid about recovering the investment this year.

    “Even though it is a wedding season, the sales are down. If this situation continues, how will we pay the salaries of our employees?” a cloth store owner said.

    A night curfew has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow, Kanpur, and Varanasi with effect from Thursday night.

    Meanwhile, as per the Union health ministry, there are currently 31,987 active cases in Uttar Pradesh. So far, 6,04,979 recoveries and 8,964 deaths have been reported. As many as 1,26,789 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, taking the total number of infections to 1,29,28,574. Currently, there are 9,10,319 active cases in the country. 

    In Bareilly, the night curfew will be imposed from Friday, while similar restrictions were imposed in Kanpur and the Lucknow Municipal Corporation areas on Wednesday, taking the number of such districts to seven.

    Till Thursday, coronavirus has killed 9,003 people in the state, while the infection count stands at 6,54,404.

    The fresh restrictions will be in force from 10 pm to 5 am till April 17 from Thursday night in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad, the orders said.

    The movement of essential goods or commodities and medical and other essential services will be exempted from the restrictions, the orders issued by the Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrates said.

    All government and private educational institutes, except medical, paramedical and nursing colleges, shall be barred from holding physical classes till April 17 in the two districts.

    All exams, however, shall be held according to the schedule and are exempted from this order.

    Gautam Buddh Nagar DM Suhas L Y said there should be an intensive enforcement of masks and other anti-COVID protocols in public places, including workplaces, by police and incident commanders and by departments concerned.

    “The night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am will be imposed from tonight till April 17 to efficiently check the spread of the COVID-19 in Ghaziabad,” Ghaziabad DM Ajay Shankar Pandey said.

    Central and state government officials, medical staff will remain exempt from the night restrictions.

    Pregnant women and those in need of medical help too are exempted, the orders said.

    Travellers going to the airport, railway stations and bus stands will be allowed movement during the night if they show valid travel tickets, the orders stated.

    Print and electronic media workers, too, will be exempted from the restrictions.

    People violating the restrictions will be punished under the Disaster Management Act, the two administrations warned.

    In Allahabad, the authorities imposed the night curfew from 10 pm to 8 am till April 20.

    According to an order issued by DM Bhanu Chandra Goswami, schools will remain closed and only students appearing for board classes will be allowed to come to the school.

    In Meerut, the restrictions will remain in force from 10 pm to 5 am till April 18.

    According to the orders issues by DM K Balaji, schools, colleges and coaching centres will also remain shut during the period.

    However, examinations will continue.

    In Bareilly, night curfew will be imposed from Friday from 9 pm to 6 am in areas falling under municipal corporation’s jurisdiction.

    The order, issued by District Magistrate Nitish Kumar, will continue till April 20.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • COVID-19 second wave: Night curfew in J&K urban areas, tourists arriving by road will undergo tests

    By PTI
    JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha ordered on Thursday imposition of night curfew in the urban areas of eight districts, including Jammu and Srinagar, to check the spread of the soaring coronavirus cases.

    The night curfew will come into effect from Friday, the office of the Lt governor said.

    “Directed the divisional administration to impose corona curfew from 10 pm to 6 am in the urban areas of 8 districts affected by the recent COVID spike,” it tweeted.

    These districts are Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, Anantnag and Kupwara, it said.

    The curfew will be in force in the municipal limits of the urban local bodies of these districts.

    Reasi district will be under close observation for any possible spikes in cases, it added.

    Jammu District Magistrate Anshul Garg on Thursday declared several areas as micro-containment zones to contain the soaring coronavirus cases.

    The area in and around Government Gandhi Memorial, Science College, Canal Road, falling under the Nowabad police station, and area in and around Sanskrit University, Kanger Morh, Bhalwal, falling under the Gharota police station, were declared as micro-containment zones, an official said.

    This followed the detection of COVID-19 cases in the educational institutes during a sampling drive.

    Quoting an order issued by the district magistrate, the spokesperson said these areas would be under strict lockdown and tight perimeter control, except for essential needs.

    “There shall be no movement, whatsoever, in and out of the micro-containment zones,” the spokesperson said.

    He said it would be mandatory for the persons residing in designated containment zones to get themselves tested and any refusal in this regard would invite action, including filing of an FIR under the Disaster Management Act.

    “The magistrate and the SHO of the area shall ensure that 100 per cent sampling and testing is done,” the spokesperson said.

    He said the Jammu chief medical officer would ensure deployment of sufficient teams for sampling and surveillance of the designated zone.

    He would ensure contact tracing of positive cases and their testing as per the SOP, the spokesperson said, adding that the district control room would monitor strict home and medical isolation of all positive cases reported from the zones twice on daily basis.

    “Any violation of this order shall invite punitive action under section 188 of Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections of Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and the Disaster Management Act, 2005,” the order said.

    All travellers coming to Kashmir by road shall undergo coronavirus tests in Kulgam district, an official said on Thursday.

    Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Aijaz Asad chaired a meeting to review the coronavirus situation, a spokesperson said.

    Asad said the testing for travellers coming by road shall be started in Lower Munda area in a couple of days as this would help in containing the spread of virus in the Valley.

    The deputy commissioner said mass vaccination of hotel staff, drivers, houseboat staff and others shall be started across all tourist destinations.

    A special training programme shall be conducted for the staff members to ensure that all standard operating procedures are followed strictly while dealing with the tourists, he said.

    Asad urged the tourism stakeholders to ensure proper sanitation and hygiene in all hotels.

    The deputy commissioner asked the hoteliers to keep two rooms available for isolation of tourists in case they test positive.

    Dr Gazalla, the incharge COVID-19 testing at Srinagar Airport, deliberated on the importance of vaccination.

    Various tourism stakeholders from Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg also attended the meeting.

    The tourism players raised various demands, including hiring of separate hotel accommodation for isolation of infected tourists, permission to tourists to the valley only after their RT-PCR test reports, improvement in testing facility at the Airport and sanitation of hotels.

  • After Delhi, now night curfew in Noida-Greater Noida

    In view of the increasing cases of corona in the country, the night curfew has been implemented in Gautam Budh Nagar, adjoining Delhi on 8 April i.e. from today, till 17 April it will remain in force from 10 am to 5 am. Gautam Budhnagar District Magistrate Suhas LY has issued a press note directing the night curfew. According to the directive, movement for essential goods, medical services will continue during the night curfew

    During this period, only those people who are connected with emergency services will be able to travel. Just like all doctors, nursing staff, para medical etc., the pregnant woman or a person is going to get health services. Also, people coming to the airport, railway station and bus base will be able to travel with valid tickets. There will be no restriction on transportation of essential commodities nor will there be any need for a pass.

  • Night curfew implemented in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi due to increasing cases of corona

    Yogi Adityanath’s government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to impose night curfew in Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi from Thursday. The curfew will be implemented from 8 April and will remain in effect till 16 April. The curfew will continue from ten in the night to six in the morning. According to an order issued by Lucknow District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash, the night curfew will be applicable only in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation area and not in the rural area. Supply of fruits, vegetables, milk, LPG, petrol-diesel and medicine will continue. Government and semi-government personnel working in night shifts and private sector personnel engaged in services of essential commodities will be exempted during this period.

    He further said, this restriction will not apply to medical, nursing and para medical institutions. People coming to and from the railway station, bus station and airport will be able to travel by showing their tickets. There will also be no restriction on the movement of goods trains. In the last 24 hours, 1,333 new cases of corona have been registered in Lucknow, while 6,023 new cases have been registered in the state.

    In a meeting held late on Wednesday night, the Chief Minister has also instructed other district magistrates of the state that if they get more than 500 cases in their area, then they too can impose night curfew in the area. A night curfew will also be imposed in Benares from April 8, which will continue from 9 in the morning to 6 in the morning. During this time, all non-medical institutions will be closed.