News Analysis India

Tag: Night curfew

  • Night curfew in four Gujarat cities gets another 15-day extension

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: In view of the recent spike in coronavirus cases, the Gujarat government has decided to extend the night curfew in four major cities of the state, including Ahmedabad, by another 15 days.

    The ongoing night curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, was to end on February 28.

    An official statement issued on Friday night said, the government decided to extend the night curfew by another 15 days in view of the recent rise in coronavirus cases in four municipal corporations.

    This is the fifth extension of the night curfew, which first came into force in November last year after a spurt in COVID-19 cases in these cities post-Diwali.

    The ongoing night curfew starts at midnight and ends at 6 am.

    Although the statement about the extended night curfew does not mention the time, the existing schedule is likely to continue.

    In view of increasing COVID-19 cases, the government has decided to expedite the vaccination drive, the statement said.

    The statement was issued following a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday evening to review the coronavirus situation in Gujarat.

    In the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination, out of the total 4.82 lakh health care workers, more than 4.07 lakh (or 84 percent) have been administered the first dose of the vaccine, the statement said.

    Also, out of the total 5.41 lakh frontline workers, 4.14 lakh (or 77 percent) have been covered in the drive so far.

    The second dose of COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 1.23 lakh healthcare workers till now, it said.

    The health department claimed that Gujarat ranks first in the country in terms of vaccination per million population.

    The state has so far received 15.70 lakh doses of Covishield, and 4.83 lakh Covaxin.

    The vaccination drive for senior citizens and those with co-morbidities will begin from March 1 as per the Centre’s instructions, it said.

    Gujarat has so far reported 2,69,031 COVID-19 cases, out of which 2,62,487 patients have recovered.

    On Friday, it reported 460 new cases.

  • Night curfew, curbs announced in Pune amid rise in COVID-19 cases

    By PTI
    PUNE: In view of a spike in COVID-19 cases in Pune, the district administration has decided to enforce certain curbs, including restriction on movement of people from 11 pm to 6 am for non-essential activities, a senior official said on Sunday.

    Schools, colleges and private coaching classes will remain closed till February 28, while hotels and restaurants will have to shut their establishments by 11 pm every day, Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao told reporters.

    Creation of micro-containment zones, re-setting up of COVID-19 care centres, increased contact-tracing and testing, and stricter implementation of norms for weddings and other social events are some of the steps which will be taken to stem the spread of the viral infection, he said.

    The decision to bring back some restrictions was taken in a meeting chaired by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune, on Sunday, he said.

    On Saturday, the Pune division reported 998 new cases of coronavirus and nine deaths due to the viral infection.

    The COVID-19 tally in the division stood at 5,14,319 and the death toll at 11,698, as per official figures.

    Rao said for the last three months, the situation in the district was under control.

    But, now in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases, some decisions have been taken.

    There will be restrictions on the movement of people for non-essential activities between 11 pm and 6 am from Monday, he said.

    “Essential activities like newspaper distribution, milk and vegetable supply, and hospital emergencies have been excluded from the curbs,” he said.

    Hotels, bars and restaurants will have to close down by 11 pm from Monday onwards, he said.

    “The decision has been taken as a precaution to control the movement of people who are roaming around unnecessarily,” he said.

    Rao said as far as the positivity rate is concerned, Pune district is at 12thposition in the state.

    “The average positivity rate in the district has now reached 10 per cent.

    Fifteen days ago, it was 4 to 5 per cent and now there is a need to revamp the standard operating procedures in the district,” he said.

    As a precautionary measure, schools and colleges in the district will remain closed till February 28.

    A review will be done on Friday and according to the situation, next strategy will be decided, Rao said.

    Private coachings and classes where physical interaction is done will also remain closed till February 28, he informed.

    “However, establishments like study centres where preparations for civil services examinations are conducted will operate with 50 per cent capacity,” the official said.

    Rao said there will be some restrictions on weddings and other social and political events.

    At a social gathering, a limit of 200 people was allowed, but over a period, as the situation became normal, violations were seen, he said.

    “Now, a decision has been taken to implement the cap of 200 people at weddings and social events in letter and spirit,” the official said.

    There is no restriction on inter-district movement, but the administration expects people to follow “COVID- appropriate behaviour” while travelling, he said.

    Rao said in all the hotspots, micro-containmentzones will be created and a decision has also been taken to activate COVID-19 care centres at the tehsil level in rural areas.

    He noted that in view of the increase in positivity rate, the COVID-19 testing also needs to be increased.

    “Currently, the National Institute of Virology here has stopped the testing as they are occupied with genome sequencing.

    We are taking help of other facilities to increase the testing in the district,” he said.

  • Night curfew in Delhi on December 31 and January 1 from 11 pm to 6 am: Govt order

    Ahead of the New Year, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Thursday imposed a night curfew in Delhi, disallowing celebrations and the assembly of over five people at public places in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the new strain of the virus.

    As per an order signed by Chief Secretary of Delhi Vijay Dev, no new year celebratory events, congregations, and gatherings at public places will be permitted from 11 pm of December 31 to 6 am of January 1, and also from 11 pm of January 1 to 6 am of January of 2.

    “A detailed assessment of the situation in Delhi has been made and considering the threat posed by the mutant UK strain of COVID-19 virus and after observing the local incidents of Covid-19 pandemic in Delhi, it is apprehended that gatherings, congregations, and public celebrations of New Year pose a considerable threat of the spread of the virus and may cause a setback to the appreciable gains made in the suppression of chain of transmission of COVID-19 cases in Delhi,” the order said.

    There will, however, be no restriction on the interstate and intrastate movement of persons and goods during the curfew period.

    With this, Delhi joins the Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan in the imposition of the night curfew to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
    As many as 677 new COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths were reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 6,24,795, including 5,838 active cases and 6,08,434.