Fresh COVID restrictions: Punjab doubles fine, imposes night curfew to curb spread

After Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, among other states, ordered night curfews in certain cities and districts to curb the spread of COVID-19, Punjab on November 25 became the latest state to resort to the measure with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announcing night curfew in all towns and cities.

The curfew will be in effect from 10 pm to 5 am, according to the announcement. All hotels, restaurants and wedding venues will close at 9.30 pm, starting December 1.

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These curbs will be reviewed on December 15.

Moreover, the government has also doubled the fine for flouting COVID-appropriate behaviour to Rs 1,000 with effect from December 1, according to news agency ANI.

According to an official spokesperson, the Chief Minister also directed the Health and Medical Education Departments to make emergency appointments of specialists, super-specialists, nurses and paramedics to further augment the manpower.

Night curfew imposed in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot from November 21 to contain COVID-19

With the data base for healthcare workers to be administered a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available reportedly ready, the CM also said that departments in the state government should start looking for other categories of frontline workers who could be prioritised for the vaccine.

Punjab is among several states in the country to have announced some restrictive measures after months of opening up. This comes after several states are witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent days.

COVID-19 pandemic: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan says night curfew to be imposed in five districts, including Bhopal

Punjab on November 24 reported 22 COVID-19 fatalities, pushing the death toll to 4,653, while the caseload rose to 1,47,665 with 614 new infections.