Updated: November 25, 2020 6:44:29 pm
Large crowd at Chaura Bazar in Ludhiana. The government has said that the fine for not following appropriate Covid behavior will be raised to Rs 1000 from the current Rs 500. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Amid the grim situation in Delhi-NCR and second wave apprehensions in Punjab, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered a series of new restrictions on the state, including the re-imposition of the night curfew in all towns and cities, as well as the doubling of the fine for not wearing masks or following social distancing rules, effective December 1.
The curbs, which will be revised on December 15, also restrict the opening hours of all hotels, restaurants and wedding palaces until 9:30 p.m. The night curfew will remain in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the prime minister announced, warning people not to lower their guard under any circumstances.
Giving details of the new restrictions after a high-level state Covid review meeting, an official spokesperson said that the fine for not following appropriate Covid behavior will be raised to Rs 1000 from the current Rs 500.
Given the influx of patients from Delhi to receive treatment in Punjab, it has also been decided to review and optimize the availability of beds in the state’s private hospitals. The prime minister has asked Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan to work with concerned departments to encourage more private hospitals to join in and assign beds for Covid care.
To further strengthen the availability of oxygen and ICU beds, Captain Amarinder ordered the strengthening of L II and L III, with constant monitoring of districts that do not have L III facilities. Management practices at GMCH and civil hospitals should also be examined in light of the recommendations of the report received from the expert group, he said.
The CM has also directed the Health and Medical Education departments to make emergency appointments of specialists, superspecialists, nurses and paramedics, to further increase the workforce that was recently strengthened with the hiring of 249 specialist doctors and 407 doctors. Departments have also been asked to consider preparing 4th and 5th year MBBS students as backup and backup, should it be necessary in the future.
On the testing front, the prime minister stressed the need to fully utilize the daily RT-PCR testing capacity of 25,500, and led targeted and regular testing of potential super spreaders, including government officials. District hospitals should have tests available 24/7, and tests should also be available in other convenient locations where people can easily access them, he said.
While the increase in contract tracing was a positive sign, steps must be taken to ensure that all these contacts are also tested, the chief minister said, adding that Patient Tracking Officers should also have this task.
To ensure that no deaths occur in home isolation, Capt. Amarinder said the agency hired to investigate these cases should closely monitor these patients. While the mortality audit was ongoing, it was cause for satisfaction that the Department now compiled the reasons for placing patients on a ventilator by private hospitals, and a reference group was available to monitor these patients, he added. .
Referring to the reports of the arrival of early vaccines, the Chief Minister said that while he was happy to note that the database for healthcare workers was ready, departments should also consider the other categories of frontline workers that they could have priority for the vaccine.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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