Chandigarh: Keeping the dangers of the new Delta Plus Variant in mind, the Punjab government on Tuesday extended the lockdown in the state till July 10 but announced some relaxations in the state from July 1. As per the latest unlock guidelines, the bars, pubs and ‘ahatas’ will remain open at 50% capacity beginning from July 1.

“With the cases of Delta Plus variant coming to light, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered extension of Covid restrictions till July 10, with certain more relaxations, including opening of bars, pubs and ‘ahatas’ at 50% capacity, beginning July 1,” the Punjab CMO said in a statement.

On Friday, the state government had extended the lockdown till June 30 after reviewing the COVID situation in the state. The Punjab government had last week also relaxed some guidelines saying that the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) coaching institutes will reopen with the condition that their teachers, staff and students have had at least one vaccination shot. Notably, the IELTS is a global standardised test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.

“The present #Covid19 restrictions will continue till 30@June with additional relaxation only for IELTS & skill development coaching institutes who can now open provided their teachers, staff & students have had at least one vaccination. I urge all to have themselves vaccinated,” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said in a tweet.

Full list of fresh guidelines:

  1. The pubs, bars will open at 50% capacity from July 1.
  2. The weekend curfew will continue on Sunday in Punjab.
  3. The night curfew will also continue to be in place from 8 PM to 5 AM.
  4. All educational institutions will also remain shut.
  5. Not more than 50 people will be allowed to gather for weddings.

Corona cases: Punjab on Monday recorded 271 fresh COVID-19 cases that stook its infection tally to 5,95,136 while 18 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 16,011. Ludhiana reported 35 fresh cases, followed by 26 in Jalandhar and 21 in Hoshiarpur.

The latest deaths were reported from Barnala, Bathinda and Faridkot, among other districts, it said. There are 3,639 active COVID-19 cases in Punjab. While 114 critical patients are on ventilator support, 381 critical patients and 1,560 others are on oxygen support, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh’s COVID-19 caseload increased to 61,632 with eight fresh infections, according to the medical bulletin. No fresh deaths were reported in the union territory. The death toll stands at 807.