Chandigarh announces curfew as Covid-19 cases touch 7 in city

CHANDIGARH: As Chandigarh witnessed seventh coronavirus positive case on Monday morning, the Punjab governor-cum-UT administrator VP Singh Badnore announced imposition of curfew in the city, starting from Monday midnight, till further orders.
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The decision was taken in a meeting, chaired by UT administrator VP Singh Badnore, and attended by UT adviser Manoj Parida and other senior officials of the UT administration.
With the imposition of curfew all the residents will be required to stay Indoors. The DGP, has been given strict directions to enforce the curfew without any relaxation whatsoever.
UT adviser Manoj Parida said that the individuals engaged in essential services including Police, Medical etc will only be allowed curfew passes. The employees of Punjab, Haryana and Central Government will request for passes through their chief secretaries only. The deputy commissioner, Chandigarh will decide about the curfew passes. Moreover, the relaxation in curfew hours will be given for purchase of essential items in due course. The detailed orders are being issued by the Deputy Commissioner, UT, Chandigarh, he added.
He further stated that the Chandigarh Administration has tied up with states of Punjab and Haryana for continuous supply of essential commodities including Oxygen, LPG, petroleum products etc. It has also been decided to requisition Sood Dharamshala where 125 isolated rooms with toilets are available to function as isolated wards, if necessary. A separate block of PGIMER (Nehru Block) has been designated as COVID Place for exclusively housing and treating Corona affected patients, he added.
The newspaper distributors and hawkers have also been advised to follow hygiene standards and use protective gears for distribution of newspapers, Parida added.
The Administration has also taken up with Government of India for advance payment of ration money of two months under Public Distribution System in Chandigarh. The Chandigarh Administration has decided to pay Rs.3,000/- to each registered construction worker for loss of their income due to Coronavirus.
Further, a Control Room Number - 112 has been setup for answering the Queries/ Calls made by General Public in Chandigarh. The Control Room will function 24 X 7. The Senior officers of the Administration will be available around the clock and will coordinate with the concerned department to resolve the Queries/ Grievances of the people of Chandigarh.
Today, till 5.00pm total 100 calls queries were received in the control room. Most of queries were about opening of shops/offices, gathering of crowd, information about people who have returned from abroad.