Tribune news service
Chandigarh, October 1
Amid the decline in Covid cases and deaths, Punjab’s Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered a series of relaxations, including lifting the night curfew and ending Sunday’s shutdown, while ordered the DGP to strictly enforce the use of masks and other safety regulations.
Among the relaxations announced by the Chief Minister are raising the limit for matrimonial functions and funerals to 100 in the state, in accordance with the guidelines of the Government of India, as well as the easing of the limit of three people in a car and 50% capacity on buses, subject to the condition that the windows are open.
Amarinder Singh, however, has ordered DGP Dinkar Gupta to ensure strict compliance with Covid protocols, with immediate action against those who violate the mandatory mask condition. There should be no laxity, especially in view of the ongoing rice procurement operations and the upcoming festival season, he said.
On the issue of the reopening of schools and educational institutions, which the Center had left to the states to decide after October 15 under Unlocking 5.0, the final decision will be announced after due deliberations between the Secretary of the Interior and the Department of Education.
During a virtual meeting to review the Covid situation in the state, the Chief Minister took note of the decline in the increasing trend of cases / deaths and said that the restrictions previously imposed by the state government had helped. However, he expressed concern about the increase in cases in rural areas, even though numbers in cities and towns were declining.
Amarinder also ordered the Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan to seek to organize the supply of vitamins, etc., to poor Covid patients discharged from hospitals.
In an earlier brief presentation, the head of the state’s health expert committee, Dr. KK Talwar, said that the positivity rate in the state had dropped from 10.85% on September 14 to 5.12% on September 28. of September. The number of deaths and patients on ventilators had also shown a decrease during this period, he said. The state’s Covid death rate is currently 2.9%, with deaths per million at 112.5%. The recovery rate has risen to 82.1%.
Health Minister Balbir Sidhu stressed the need to motivate doctors and other medical personnel to keep the situation under control.
Health Secretary Hussan Lal shared details of the current situation in government and private hospitals, etc., while Dr. DK Tiwari, Secretary of Education and Medical Research, revealed that so far 54 Covid patients had received plasma donation in the three GMCs.
