In a bid to curb rising Covid cases in the state, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced to extend the night curfew to nine other major cities of the state from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m till May 5. The order will come into force from Wednesday. Notably, twenty major cities of Gujarat are already under night curfew for the last three weeks amid the second wave of coronavirus infection.
Gujarat saw the highest spike on Monday at 14,340 cases with the total caseload soaring high to over five lakhs.
The state has been witnessing an unprecedented rise in Covid infections, contributing to high rise of daily cases as well as death.
This comes after the central government released new guidelines for state on Monday on lockdowns and asked states to impose lockdown-like measures in the states, if the positivity rate is more than 10 per cent. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani chaired a core committee meeting late on Monday evening after the Centre’s order and finalised that it is only apt to impose curfew in nine other cities.
The government has already banned political or social gatherings till April 30 and reduced the number of guests at marriages to fifty from hundred, following a Gujarat High Court order. Other gatherings have also been limited to a maximum of fifty people.
The existing night curfew has been in force in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamangar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Gandhinagar, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Morbi, Dahod, Patan, Godhra, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Bharuch, Surendranagar and Amreli till April 30 which has been extended to May 5 now.
All businesses and activities apart from essential services have been barred in Gujarat. Grocery, vegetable shops, milk booths will continue to operate. So will manufacturing units and industries, provided Covid protocols are strictly followed.
There is a ban on shopping malls, complexes, auditoriums, cinema halls, flea markets, swimming pools, gymnasiums, salons, spa, beauty parlours, amusement parks among others. Public transport will continue to operate with fifty per cent capacity.
