The Gujarat Government on Saturday extended till February 15 the night curfew in four major cities of the State- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot- to prevent  the spread of coronavirus, a senior official said.

However, the duration of the night curfew has been curtailed by  an hour, from 10 pm-6 am to 11 pm-6 am, he said.

The government had imposed the night curfew in these four cities  following a spike in COVID-19 cases after Diwali in November. It  had later announced that the night curfew would continue till January 31, but reduced the curfew timing by one hour to 10 pm and 6 am.

“Starting February, Gujarat will strictly follow till February 28 the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on January27,” Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Pankaj Kumar said.

“The night curfew would continue to be in force in four metros of the state - Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat. But it would now be between 11 pm to 6 am till February 15,” he said. Kumar said the state has succeeded in improving the COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.94 per cent.

“But there is a need to remain cautious, vigilant and adhere to the prescribed containment strategy to prevent and completely eradicate the COVID-19 transmission,” he said.

According to him, all the activities outside of the containment zones will continue as per the SOPs issued by the various departments of the central and state governments.

Activities related to marriage functions, large gatherings, places of worship, malls, restaurants, hotels, cinema halls, swimming pools, gymnasiums, exhibition, passenger movement by train, air travel, metro train, schools, institutions of higher learning, yoga centers, gymnasiums, etc will have to be conducted in strict adherence to the SOPs, he said.