Chandigarh: Taking preventive measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Chandigarh administration on Friday imposed weekend lockdown in the Union Territory from tonight till Monday. As per the official order, the weekend lockdown will be in place from Friday 10 PM to Monday 5 AM. However, during this time, only essential services will be allowed. The decision to impose weekend lockdown was taken during a high-level meeting of Chandigarh Administration.
The development comes as the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana recorded 412 new confirmed cases of infection on Thursday. The UT now has 3,371 active cases.
Weekend curfew to be imposed in Chandigarh from Friday 10 pm to Monday 5 am. Only essential services will be allowed. The order will come into effect from tonight. The decision was taken in a high-level meeting of Chandigarh Administration.
— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2021
On Tuesday, the Chandigarh administration had said that it will impose lockdown in the city if the COVID cases continue to rise. “If the situation becomes very critical and numbers (of COVID cases) go very high, this option of imposing lockdown can’t be ruled out,” Manoj Parida, Adviser to Chandigarh Administrator, had told news agency ANI.
He had also stated that the sealing of borders is not an option as people from Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh enter the city daily. Saying that the lockdown impacts livelihood and economy of people, Parida said that a decision on imposing lockdown can only be taken only after discussion with experts.
Prior to Chandigarh, other places such as Delhi and Uttar Pradesh has imposed weekend lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus in their respective states.