Andaman and Nicobar Islands extend night curfew; tourist spots shut for four weeks

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have announced a shutdown of all prominent tourist spots for four weeks, along with extending their night curfew time an hour. In a recent update, it was announced that all the attractions as well as cinema halls in the Andamans will remain closed owing to the COVID situation in the country. Andaman and Nicobar Islands authorities closed their tourist attractions on April 22. The night curfew that was imposed has now been extended by an hour (new timings: 9 PM to 5 AM).

The recent restrictions came into effect after a large number of COVID cases were detected in the tourists coming from the mainland. In an alarming incident, some tourists were found tampering with their test reports. Soon after they were caught, FIRs were registered against all the tourists.For now, all the prominent beaches, light and sound shows at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island, and the famous Cellular Jail are off limits. The administration has also said that they will impose a penalty of INR 10000 on rule violators.
Not only this, the Union Territory has also announced that all passengers coming from the mainland will now have to stay under 7-day mandatory quarantine even if they test negative for COVID-19. Those found violating rules will have to pay INR 5000.

Apparently, tourism in the Andamans had just started to pick up and there were several plans to introduce four water aerodromes here. These were supposed to be set up by 2021 on Havelock Island, Long Island, Port Blair and Neil Island.