Restaurants, cinema halls, gyms in Punjab to reopen with 50 pc capacity

Under fresh guidelines, which will be in effect till June 25, daily night curfew will be in place from 8 pm to 5 am and weekend curfew from 8 pm on Saturday up to 5 am on Monday across the state, according to a government statement.These guidelines will be again reviewed., it said.


PTI | Chandigarh | Updated: 15-06-2021 22:17 IST | Created: 15-06-2021 22:16 IST
Restaurants, cinema halls, gyms in Punjab to reopen with 50 pc capacity
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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As the Covid positivity rate dropped to two per cent in Punjab, the state government on Tuesday eased restrictions, allowing restaurants, cinema halls and gyms to operate at 50 per cent capacity beginning Wednesday. Under fresh guidelines, which will be in effect till June 25, daily night curfew will be in place from 8 pm to 5 am and weekend curfew from 8 pm on Saturday up to 5 am on Monday across the state, according to a government statement.

These guidelines will be again reviewed., it said. Earlier, the night curfew was in force from 7 pm to 6 am. Chairing a virtual Covid review meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered opening of all restaurants, including those in hotels, cafes, coffee shops, fast food outlets, dhabas, and cinemas and gyms at maximum 50 per cent capacity, subject to all their employees having received at least one dose of Covid vaccine. Air-conditioned buses can also ply with 50 per cent occupation. Bars, pubs and 'ahatas' (taverns) shall, however, continue to remain closed, the statement said. All educational institutions--schools and colleges -- will also continue to be closed, it said 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, the statement said. District authorities will also continue to ensure strict implementation of all the extant directives of the Union home ministry and state government on Covid appropriate behaviour, including social and physical distancing, wearing of face masks, among others, the chief minister directed. The announcements came as Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan, citing a University of Cambridge Judge Business School report of June 14 on 'Growth of Infection in Punjab', told the meeting that based on its findings, all districts are showing downward trajectories for new cases. ''The estimated trend value of the daily growth rate was -9.2 per cent as of 14 June 2021. This implies that reported new cases will halve in seven days, under the assumption that the growth rate remains constant,” the official said.

As of June 14, the estimated case reproduction number for Punjab stood at 0.69, significantly below one per cent, Mahajan said.

Newly reported COVID-19 cases are likely to decline to about 210 per day by 28 June,” she added. The projected number of deaths by June 28 stands at 21, Mahajan said. The state 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.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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