A police constable stands guard outside a containment zone after some residents tested positive with COVID-19, in Patiala.
Night curfew will be imposed in Punjab's districts Patiala, Ludhiana from March 12 between 11 pm to 5 am. All essential services, government officials and medical emergency services have been exempted.
In addition to this, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner has ordered for all marriage halls, hotels and banquet halls will have to preserve CCTV footage of events organised in their premises so that implementation of gathering restrictions, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, could be inspected by supervisors.
On Wednesday, Punjab reported 1,422 fresh coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally to 1,92,040. Seventeen more fatalities took the death toll from the disease to 5,978 in the state, according to a medical bulletin.
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, according to the bulletin.
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There are 20 critical patients who are on ventilator support, while 176 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said. A total of 52,63,900 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state, it said.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh reported 87 more cases, taking the infection count to 22,589, according to a medical bulletin. The death of a 55-year-old man took the death toll in the union territory to 357.
The number of active cases rose from 778 on Tuesday to 816 on Wednesday, according to the bulletin.
A total of 48 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 21,416.
A total of 2,72,059 samples have been taken for testing so far and of them, 2,48,501 tested negative while reports of 138 samples were awaited.
Meanwhile, Punjab Governor and UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore expressed deep concern over the rising number of coronavirus cases and directed strict observance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour.
He directed the deputy commissioners and police officials to intensify checking and impose fine on the people violating COVID-19 guidelines, according to an official statement.
Imposing curbs on gathering, the administration decided the maximum number for indoor gathering will be 100 or 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue, whichever is lower.
For outdoor gatherings, the number was kept to 200, it said.
The administrator directed that a special drive should be conducted by police to ensure that social distancing is properly maintained at restaurants, shops and markets. It was also decided to keep primary schools closed until the situation improves.
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