The district administration has lifted the prohibitory orders that were in place for a month-and-a-half since October 4 to tackle the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Even while deciding against extending the restrictions beyond Sunday midnight, District Collector Navjot Khosa appealed to political parties to exercise restraint while campaigning for the local body elections.
While restrictions will hereafter will imposed only in containment zones, the Unlock 5 guidelines will be prevalent in other areas. Only essential services will be permitted, while gatherings will be limited to 20 people in containment (or micro-containment) zones.
Dr. Khosa told The Hindu said the clamping of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been effective in reducing a surge and slowing down the COVID-19 spread. The enhanced vigil also ensured the enforcement of social distancing to a large extent.
While another surge is anticipated in December largely owing to the upcoming polls, the district administration will evaluate the situation after two weeks to adopt appropriate measures to tackle the unfolding situation.
“We have urged the political parties to refrain from organising mass rallies. While we will continue to evaluate the situation, we also expect a clear direction from the State Election Commission in this regard,” Dr. Khosa said. the district authorities deployed sectoral magistrates across the district to detect violations of the COVID-19 protocol while the prohibitory orders were in effect. Legal action was initiated against 29,272 people during the period.
