No curfew in Punjab after 17 May, announces CM.

Chandigarh,16 May(HS): Amid a decline in the daily count of new cases over the past four days, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday announced a replacement of the strict curfew with a lockdown till 31 May in the state, while indicating resumption of limited public transport and maximum possible relaxations in the non-containment zones from 18 May.

The containment zones would be strictly sealed to enable resumption of shops and small businesses in the non-containment areas, he announced, adding that details of all relaxations would be announced by Monday, taking into account the new guidelines of the Centre for Lockdown 4.0. He, however, made it clear that educational institutes would continue to remain closed for the safety and security of the children.

The Chief Minister appealed to the people to be cautious and continue to support his government as the state moves into a relaxed lockdown in place of the stringent curfew restrictions of the past 55 days.

He disclosed that in its suggestions to the Union Home Ministry, as sought by the Prime Minister, the state had recommended that the nationwide lockdown, in a relaxed form, should also be extended to 31 May.

Favouring a simple containment/non-containment zone categorisation instead of the Green/Orange/Red zone classification of the central government, the Chief Minister said the state had suggested the same to the Centre.

In a live FB interaction, as part of his ‘ AskCaptain initiative, the Chief Minister said the daily number of new cases in the state had come down during the last 4 days or so, after the recent upsurge due to the arrival of pilgrims from Nanded, students from Kota etc.

However, the numbers could go up as more migrant labourers and NRIs enter Punjab, he warned, adding that 60,000 Punjabis from other states and 20,000 from abroad had registered for return, as of now.

He also made it clear that his government would continue to facilitate, and pay for, migrants who wanted to leave Punjab to go back to their homes.

In response to questions, the Chief Minister said that educational institutions will remain strictly closed as he could not risk the lives of children in any way. But schools that were equipped to do so could start online classes, without any non-tuition fee charges and without any fee hike, he added.

Other suggestions of the state government, listed by the Chief Minister, include allowing shops to open in all the market and market complexes (in a staggered manner if they are too crowded), operationalisation of industry and construction in urban areas without any restriction, as well as permission for E-commerce for all the commodities and not only for essential commodities.

Offices, both private and government, may be allowed to open for the entire week during normal office hours, with staggering in office timings to avoid over-crowding, if requirement, as per the state government’s suggestions. However, the state is not in favour of resumption of teaching in Educational Institutions till 31 May.

The Chief Minister further disclosed that the state government wanted no restrictions on the movement of individuals from 5.00 am to 7.00 pm and had suggested that restrictions, if any, may be imposed between 7.00 pm and 5.00 am.

However, it was in favour of continued prohibition of activities where there would be a sizeable crowd under one roof, as in the case of shopping malls, cinemas, marriage & banquet halls, social, political and cultural gatherings, and religious places.

In conclusion, Captain Amarinder thanked all Punjabis for coming forward wholeheartedly in contributing to the CM Covid Relief Fund.