COVID-19: Indefinite curfew imposed in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, March 23 (IANS) With coronavirus cases spiking to seven, Punjab Governor-cum-Administrator of Chandigarh, V.P. Singh Badnore, on Monday decided to impose indefinite curfew as a precaution in the city, starting midnight.

The Director General of Police has been asked to enforce the curfew without any relaxation whatsoever.

Chandigarh Adviser Manoj Parida said those engaged in maintaining essential services like the police and medical will be issued curfew passes.

Employees of the Punjab, Haryana and Central governments will request for passes through their Chief Secretaries only.

The Deputy Commissioner will take a call about the issue if passes. Moreover, the relaxation in curfew hours will be given for purchase of essential items in due course.

Parida said the administration has tied up with Punjab and Haryana for continuous supply of essential commodities, including oxygen, LPG and petroleum products.

It has also been decided to requisition Sood Dharamshala in Sector 22 to function as 125 isolated wards, if necessary.

A separate block of the PGIMER has been designated as COVID-19 place for exclusively housing and treating the virus infected patients.

The newspaper distributors and hawkers have also been advised to follow hygiene standards and use protective gears for distribution of the papers.

The administration has also taken up with the government of India for advance payment of ration money of two months under the Public Distribution System in Chandigarh.

It has decided to pay Rs 3,000 to each registered construction worker for loss of their income due to the coronavirus.

Further, a round-the-clock control room number 112 has been setup for answering the queries and calls.

–IANS

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