With the daily COVID-19 caseload continuing to remain alarmingly high, the district administration on Friday issued orders prohibiting public functions and ramping up pandemic control measures.
Friday's caseload was lower than that of Thursday but still sat above the 7,000 mark for the second consecutive day. The district logged 7,896 cases and 2,318 recoveries, even as the active case pool rose to 54,280 cases.
Public functions — social, political, religious and cultural events included — stand banned until further orders. A maximum of 20 persons are permitted at marriages and funerals, an order issued by District Collector Navjot Khosa, in line with the guidelines issued by the State government based on hospital and ICU admissions, said. Permissions granted by authorities for public programmes or functions also stand cancelled, the order noted.
Offline classes are permitted only for classes 10, 11 and 12. While this condition is not applicable to BUDS and special schools, they are required to remain shut for 15 days if clusters form.
The new measures require places of worship in the district to conduct prayers online and shopping malls to shut down play zones.
Guidelines for Sundays
The district administration has also issued specific guidelines for the next two Sundays, (January 23 and January 30) where only essential services will be permitted as per a decision taken by the State government on Thursday.
Hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries, ambulance services and medical shops will function. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and liquor can remain open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Parcel/home delivery is permitted at restaurants and bakeries from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Central and State autonomous and public sector institutions operating as essential services can function as per the directions issued by their heads. Employees should carry their identity cards with them. Important industries, companies, and other establishments can function 24x7. IT companies should function with bare minimum staff.
As train services, flights and long-distance bus services are permitted, passengers travelling to bus and railway stations and the airport should carry valid travel documents. Tourists who have made bookings in advance can travel to resorts. They should have their stay vouchers with them.
