Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 23
Amid growing concern over the growing trend of Covid in the state, Punjab’s Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered the restriction of indoor gatherings to 100 and outdoor gatherings to 200 as of January 1. March, along with the strict application of masks, social distancing, etc. tests to increase up to 30,000 per day.
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Chairing a high-level virtual meeting to review the situation, the Chief Minister also authorized developing countries to impose a night curfew on hotspots in their districts if necessary, with a micro-containment strategy to be adopted. He directed the police force to ensure the strict application of the use of masks, along with the notification of the Covid monitors by all the restaurants, wedding palaces, with the Department of Taxes and Taxes to be the nodal agency for them.
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The chief minister said a decision will be made on reducing occupancy in cinemas after March 1. Private offices and restaurants will be encouraged to show all employees the latest tests, he added.
While leading an increase in testing, Amarinder ordered mandatory testing of 15 contacts per positive, with follow-up by CPTOs and review by the Department of Health.
The Chief Minister also took stock of the vaccination status, underlining the need to carry out an IEC campaign to promote 100% coverage of healthcare and frontline workers. He ordered the Department of Health to plan the launch of the vaccine for the elderly population and those with comorbidities.
Amarinder expressed concern about the 3.23 CFR and noted from the mortality audit findings that many of the deaths occur between 2 and 14 days after hospitalization.
The Chief Minister called on the Health and Medical Education departments to ensure that all positions for which special recruitment has been allowed are filled as soon as possible.
Informing the Chief Minister of the measures taken by the Punjab Police to enforce security protocols, DGP Dinkar Gupta said that field officers have been instructed to impose strict restrictions.
Earlier, in a short presentation, Health Secretary Hussan Lal informed the meeting that the districts of Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, SAS Nagar and SBS Nagar had shown an increase in positivity in recent days, which raised concerns about a possible new wave. in the state.
Dr. KK Talwar, who heads the state government think tank on Covid, said a detailed analysis was being conducted on the recent rise in the positivity rate, which suggested an increase in cases among young people. At the current rate, positivity could rise to 4% in two weeks, which translates to 800 cases a day, he said, emphasizing the need for urgent preventive measures.
Chief Secretary Vinni Mahajan ruled out the new closure of public schools and said the department is taking all measures to ensure the safety of students.
Until now, no new mutated variant of the Coronavirus had been witnessed in Punjab, but new samples had been sent for analysis and results were expected next week, Dr. Talwar said.
