Night curfew back in Punjab, fine for not wearing masks doubled to ₹1,000 from today

Though the number of Covid-19 cases decreased in Punjab in November as compared to October, night curfew has been re-imposed in the state and fine for not wearing masks or following social distancing has been doubled from Tuesday amid fears of a second wave of the coronavirus infection.

The curbs, which shall be reviewed on December 15, also restrict the opening timings of all hotels, restaurants and marriage palaces till 9.30pm, while the decision on closing liquor vends will be taken at the deputy commissioner level.

“Night curfew will remain in force from 10pm to 5am from December 1,” chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had announced after chairing a Covid review meeting last week, warning people against letting their guard down amid the grim Covid situation in Delhi-NCR, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and fears of a second wave in Punjab.

Also read: India’s daily Covid-19 count drops to 31,118, active cases further down

An official spokesperson said that the fine for not following Covid-appropriate behaviour shall be hiked from the present ₹500 to ₹1,000.

Given the inflow of patients from Delhi for treatment in Punjab, it has also been decided to review and optimise the beds availability in the state’s private hospitals.

CONTAINING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS

Punjab was able to contain the threat of the virus further in November when it added fewer new cases as compared to previous months. This was the second consecutive month in which the state saw a decrease in fresh cases.

The daily average of cases in November was 614 against 637 in October. In all, the state witnessed 18,433 cases in November against a total of 19,772 in October.

Also, the state’s total deaths due to the virus in November also came down to 604 as compared to 797 in October, the state health department’s media bulletin said.

The state witnessed the pandemic peak in September.

However, the number of active cases nearly doubled from 4,195 on November 1 to 7,842 on November 29.

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