Amid spike in COVID-19 cases, this state to restrict indoor gatherings to 100, outdoor to 200 from March 1

Ludhiana: Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Punjab government has decided to put a cap on indoor gatherings to 100 and outdoor to 200 from March 1.

A tweet from Punjab Chief Minister's Office said, "Amid growing concern over rising #COVID trend, CM @capt_amarinder Singh ordered restriction on indoor gathering to 100 & outdoor to 200 from March 1, along with strict enforcement of mask, social distancing etc, with testing to be ramped to 30000 a day.''

Amid growing concern over rising #COVID trend, CM @capt_amarinder Singh ordered restriction on indoor gathering to 100 & outdoor to 200 from March 1, along with strict enforcement of mask, social distancing etc, with testing to be ramped to 30000 a day.https://t.co/03N9zss1CY — CMO Punjab (@CMOPb) February 23, 2021

The Chief Minister said a decision on reducing occupancy in cinema halls will be taken after March 1. Private offices and restaurants shall be encouraged to display the last tests done for all employees, he added.

While directing increased testing, Captain Amarinder ordered mandatory testing of 15 contacts per positive, with monitoring to be done by CPTOs and review to be undertaken by the Health Department.

The Chief Minister also took stock of the vaccination status, underlining the need to carry out an IEC campaign to promote 100% coverage of healthcare and frontline workers. He directed the Health Department to plan for and strategise the roll-out of vaccine for the elderly population and those with comorbidities.

"The Chief Minister asked the Health and Medical Education departments to ensure that all positions for which special hiring has been allowed are filled at the earliest. Apprising the Chief Minister of measures taken by the Punjab Police to enforce adherence to safety protocols, DGP Dinkar Gupta said instructions have been issued to field officers to strictly impose restrictions,'' a state government release said.

"Ceiling of 100 and 200 persons on various indoor and outdoor social/religious/sports/entertainment/educational/ cultural/religious gatherings would be strictly enforced from 1st March 2021 in Ludhiana district," District Magistrate of Ludhiana was quoted as saying by news agency ANI on Wednesday.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) had on Wednesday deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir for supporting them in public health measures for targeted COVID-19 response and management.

According to the official release, the three-member multidisciplinary teams will work closely with the states and UT administration and ascertain the reasons for the recent surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. 

They will also coordinate with health authorities of the states and UT for requisite COVID-19 control measures to break the chain of transmission.