Amid a sharp surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday imposed ‘corona curfew’ from May 7 to 16.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in Shimla. Reviewing the situation, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the sharp surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. “To break the virus chain, the Cabinet decided to impose ‘corona curfew’ in the State. All government and private offices will remain closed from May 7 to 16,” said an official statement.
All essential services such as health, electricity, telecommunication, water supply, sanitation etc. would remain open, said the statement.
The Cabinet decided that work would continue at civil work sites, horticultural, agricultural and other project sites. “Educational institutions will remain closed till May 31. All government and private transport will ply at 50% of occupancy and inter-State transport will continue. Industrial establishments will work as per the guidelines,” the statement added.
Exams cancelled
It was also decided at the meeting that the Class X annual examinations of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education would stand cancelled. All the students would be promoted to Class XI by the Board as per the norms suggested by the CBSE for its students. It was also decided that Class XII examinations and the annual examinations of colleges would also remain suspended till further orders, said the statement.