With the state’s Covid positivity rate coming down to 2%, Punjab chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced easing of the restrictions, allowing restaurants and other eating joints, as well as cinemas and gyms to open at 50% capacity beginning Wednesday (June 16). He also announced increase in gathering of people, including for weddings and cremations, to 50 persons.
Under the new guidelines, which will remain in effect till June 25, daily night curfew will be in place from 8pm to 5am, with weekend curfew from 8pm on Saturday upto 5am on Monday across Punjab.
However, all essential activities will remain unhindered and exempted from curfew restrictions. Chairing a high-level virtual Covid review meeting, the Punjab CM ordered opening of:
-all restaurants (including in hotels), cafes, coffee shops, fast food outlets, cinemas, gyms at maximum 50% capacity, subject to all their employees having received at least one dose of the vaccination.
-AC buses can ply with 50% capacity.
-Bars, Pubs and ‘Ahatas’ shall, however, continue to remain closed.
-All educational institutions, ie schools and colleges will also continue to be closed.
-District Authorities have been asked to determine opening timings of non-essential shops, including on Sunday, on the basis of the local situation, while ensuring that crowds are avoided.
Punjab had hit its second wave peak on May 8, with 9,100 cases, which had come down to a low of 629 on June 14.
Giving details of curfew exemptions, an official spokesperson later said that the following activities/establishments shall, subject to observing Covid appropriate behaviour by all concerned, remain exempted from Covid restrictions.
(i) Hospitals, veterinary hospitals and all establishments, both in public and private sector, related to manufacture and supply of all medicines and medical equipment. Including the manufacturing & distribution units such as dispensaries, chemist & pharmacy (including Jan Aushadhi Kendras), laboratories, pharmaceutical research labs, clinics, nursing homes, ambulances etc. Transportation of all personnel of these establishments shall be allowed subject, however, to production of identity cards.
(ii) Shops dealing with supply of essential goods, milk, dairy and poultry products like bread, eggs, meat etc and vegetables, fruits etc.
(iii) Shops/establishments selling industrial materials including raw materials, intermediaries as well as shops/establishments engaged in export and import activities.
(iv) Activities /establishments related to fisheries such as fish, meat and its products including supply of fish seeds
(v) To and fro’ movement of passengers travelling by air, trains and buses on production of travel documents. Inter and intra state movement of all vehicles/persons carrying essential and non-essential goods.
(vi) Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment etc. through E-Commerce.
(vii) Construction activities in both urban and rural areas.
(viii) Agricultural including procurement, horticultural, animal husbandry and veterinary services.
(ix) Vaccinations out-reach camps.
(x) Activities of Manufacturing industry, Commercial & Private establishments and services given below including movement of all their employees/workers and vehicles carrying them upon production of requisite permission from their employers :
a) Telecommunication, internet services, broadcasting and cable services. IT and IT enabled services.
b) Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment etc. through E-Commerce.
c) Petrol pumps and petroleum products, LPG, petroleum and gas retail and storage outlets, coal, firewood and other fuels.
d) Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.
e) Cold storage and
warehousing services.
f) Private security services
g) Farming operations by farmers and farm workers in the field.
h) All Banking/RBI services, ATMs, Cash Vans and cash handling/ distribution services.
