Chandigarh, July 30 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday sought the views of the Deputy Commissioners on opening of gyms and coaching centres, and said that he will take a final decision on this and other relaxations under Unlock 3.0 after receiving their inputs.
At a review meeting on Covid-19 containment and management arrangements, the Chief Minister said that while the Central government had announced certain relaxations, including permission to reopen gyms, under the Unlock 3.0 guidelines, he will decide on the matter after an assessment of the ground situation.
He asked the Deputy Commissioners to think through and submit their views to Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan, following which a final decision will be taken by the government after due deliberations.
Underlining the need for strict enforcement in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab, the Chief Minister said that while there was a lot of demand from youngsters for opening of both gyms and coaching centres, the modalities would have to be thought through and all options would be explored before a decision can be taken.
Taking serious note of reports of violation of social distancing and other Covid protocols by some shopkeepers, the Chief Minister directed the Deputy Commissioners to order shutdown of shops for three days in case of first offence and for a higher number of days on subsequent violations.
He further asked the Deputy Commissioners to strictly enforce all safety protocols and norms, including wearing of masks and social distancing, to check the spread of the pandemic.
Expert K.K.
Talwar pointed out that scientific data show that wearing of masks is as effective as lockdown, as it not only prevents the spread of infection but also lowers mortality.
Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta informed the meeting that from March 23 to July 29, a total of 14,384 FIRs have been registered and 19,850 people have been arrested for various violations.
Expressing grave concern over the increasing mortality, the Chief Minister called for concerted efforts to bring down the fatality rate.
Punjab has so far lost 361 lives to the virus, with 25 people succumbing to the deadly disease since Wednesday night, he pointed out, adding that this was not acceptable.
The Deputy Commissioners of some of the worst affected districts -- Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mohali -- briefed the meeting on the situation in their respective regions and the measures being taken to monitor, track, test and treat people.
The state currently has 64 micro-containment zones, of which 16 are in Jalandhar, which also has 20 clusters.
The maximum number of clusters, however, is in Amritsar, though it has only two micro-containment zones.
Ludhiana (city), Jalandhar (city), Sangrur, Barnala, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ferozepur districts have seen the maximum surge in cases of police personnel testing positive in the past one week.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
