Punjab imposes daily night curfew, ban on all gatherings with surge in COVID-19 cases

Amid rising coronavirus cases, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered a series of emergency measures, including the extension of weekend lockdown, with daily night curfew from 7 pm to 5 am in the state from August 21. The CM has also ordered a total ban on all gatherings across the state till August 31.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, "In view of rise in COVID-19 cases, we have decided to impose evening lockdown from 7 PM to 5 AM and weekends lockdown in all towns. Also no public gatherings will be allowed. Detailed instructions will be issued tomorrow. Urge all Punjabis to cooperate & triumph in Mission Fateh."

In view of rise in #Covid19 cases, we have decided to impose evening lockdown from 7 PM to 5 AM & weekends lockdown in all towns. Also no public gatherings will be allowed. Detailed instructions will be issued tomorrow. Urge all Punjabis to cooperate & triumph in #MissionFateh. pic.twitter.com/0YoMQRqx73 — Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) August 20, 2020

The government and private offices will work at 50 per cent capacity till the end of this month, as per the directives issued by the CM during a video conference meeting to review the COVID situation in the state.

Punjab has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and death toll for the last several days. On August 19, the state had reported 36,083 coronavirus cases with 920 deaths so far. 

Antibodies against the COVID-19 infection have been found in 27.7 per cent of people in Punjab's containment zones, news agency PTI reported citing findings of a sero-survey. This was Punjab's first exclusive survey and was conducted in five containment zones from August 1 to 17 among a systematically selected random sample population of 1,250 people.

There were earlier surveys, but they were more generalised and conducted by the state government in coordination with the Indian Council of Medical Research, according to a government statement issued here. The latest survey's findings were submitted to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at a COVID review meeting on Thursday.

"A total of 27.7 per cent of the people in Punjab's containment zones are found to be positive for COVID antibodies, indicating that they have already been infected and have recovered from the coronavirus," as per the sero-survey's findings.

The findings showed that the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) antibodies' prevalence in the containment zones to be the highest at 40 per cent in Amritsar district, followed by 35.6 per cent in Ludhiana, 33.2 per cent in SAS Nagar, 19.2 per cent in Patiala and 10.8 per cent in Jalandhar district.

For the latest Punjab sero-survey, one containment zone each was selected in Patiala, SAS Nagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar districts. These zones had reported a high number of coronavirus cases. The sample size was 250 people from each zone, and from each of the selected households, one person above the age of 18 was randomly chosen for the survey.

Overall, the sero- prevalence of SARS CoV-2 antibodies was found to be 27.7 per cent in the containment zones where the highest number of COVID-19 cases had been reported. However, in the remaining parts of the cities, prevalence of SARS CoV-2 would be lower, and in the rural areas, the prevalence would be much lower than the urban areas, as per the report of the survey.

The survey was aimed at finding out the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM/IgG) using Rapid Antibody testing kits. Giving details, the head of the state government's Health Advisory Expert Group K K Talwar said a team of trained field assistants and laboratory technicians collected the data under the supervision of a medical officer.

Accredited Social Health Activists and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives facilitated the survey by identifying the households in the zones.
After explaining the purpose of the survey, written informed consent was obtained, following which a laboratory technician collected a venous blood sample under aseptic conditions.

The blood samples were taken to the district public health laboratory where rapid antibody tests were performed, said the government statement.