COVID-19: Night curfew comes into effect in Punjab's Patiala from March 12

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New Delhi: Night curfew is set to kick in starting from March 12 in the Patiala district of Punjab. The state government took the decision in view of the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

According to the government's order, the curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 5 am. The restrictions will remain in force until further orders.

During the restricted period, only the essential services will be allowed to function, including medical emergency services. The government officials have also been exempted.

Police and army personnel on duty, government officials/employees, essential services/medical emergency and any other emergency related to the safety of the public/property, would be exempted from the purview of these orders.

1,422 fresh coronavirus cases were reported in Punjab on Wednesday, taking the overall tally to 1,92,040. The death toll from the disease has reached 5,978. The number of active cases also increased from 8,522 on Tuesday to 9,402 on Wednesday.

A total of 496 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,76,660.

The state’s health bulletin stated that there are 20 critical patients who are on ventilator support, while 176 are on oxygen support. A total of 52,63,900 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state.

Earlier, Punjab's Jalandhar administration imposed a night curfew in the district from March 6 to tackle an upsurge in COVID-19 cases.