Extending the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till June 15 with “graded” relaxations, Punjab Government on Monday decided to allow opening of shops till 6 pm, allowing 50 percent strength in private offices, permitting gatherings of 20 persons, besides allowing the conduct of recruitment exams, sports training for the national and international events, among other things.
While deciding to continue with the night curfew from 7 pm to 6 am on weekdays including Saturdays, the Government maintained that the regular ‘weekend curfew’ will continue on Sundays. Also, the entry restrictions — including negative COVID test or vaccination certificate — for arrivals in the State have also been done away with.
At the same time, going with the persistent demand by the gym owners and also by the hospitality sector, the Government has decided to allow opening of gyms and restaurants after a week’s time with 50 percent capacity along with other conditions as per the experts’ advice, “only if the situation improves further”. Besides, the owners and workers of the gyms and restaurants have also been asked to get vaccinated before reopening.
The decisions, taken during the state’s COVID review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, came as the state’s case positivity has declined to 3.2 percent and active cases are also coming down.
Recruitment exams will be allowed to be held subject to adherence to social distancing and other COVID appropriate norms, though the Chief Minister said that online mode should be preferred.
Sports training for national and international events have also been permitted and the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs has been asked to issue the necessary instructions and guidelines, which shall have to be strictly adhered to.
Reviewing the COVID situation virtually, with Ministers, senior police and administrative officials and health experts, the Chief Minister said that District Administrations may determine opening of non-essential shops, including on weekend, on the basis of local situation, while ensuring that crowding leading to spread of COVID are avoided.
On government offices, the Chief Minister said that attendance can be decided by the head of the concerned office but co-morbid or disabled employees at risk may be exempted.
“Further relaxations will be allowed in the coming weeks depending on the outcomes, if the cases continue to decline,” said Capt Amarinder, adding that gyms and restaurants could be opened after a week with 50 percent, and other conditions as per expert advice, if the situation improves further. Owners and workers of the gyms and restaurants should get themselves vaccinated prior to the reopening, he added.
Asserting that Punjab could not afford to let its guard down despite the decline in case load and increasing in testing, the Chief Minister said that the virus mutations were a matter of concern, even though the CFR was lower than the first wave.
The Chief Minister expressed satisfaction over the progress of the ‘Corona Mukt Pendu Abhiyan’ in the villages, where almost 1.5 crore individuals (37 lakh households) have already been screened. “These efforts have resulted in identification of 5,889 positive patients who have been assisted as per protocols,” he said.
“The week on week positivity has also reduced from nine to three percent,” he added, reiterating, however, the need to further strengthen the screening and testing mechanisms to free the rural areas of the State from the pandemic.
Referring to the spread of Black Fungus (Mucormycosis), the Chief Minister said that there are currently 381 cases of mucormycosis in the state, of which 38 have already been cured and 265 are undergoing treatment. “There is an adequate supply of drugs for treatment,” he assured the people, adding that the State Government would continue to augment the supplies and ensure that there is no shortage of any essential drug in the state.
PUNJAB’S 30% COVID PATIENTS HAVING POST-COVID COMPLICATIONS
For better management of cases, the Chief Minister asked the Departments to reduce testing time. Post-COVID complications should be studied carefully for better preparation to handle those, he said, citing the example of Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, who was discharged after COVID recovery but had to be hospitalized again.
“I have been informed that 20 percent of patients in hospitals in Patiala are similar cases of recovered patients being readmitted,” he said. Punjab’s COVID Expert Group head Dr KK Talwar informed the meeting that almost 30 percent COVID patients are having post COVID complications and continue to be symptomatic. Patients are taking almost three months to get back to normal, and thus need to be strictly monitored, he added.
MEDICAL COLLEGE FACULTY TO GET FULL EARNED LEAVE CREDIT FOR COVID PERIOD
Taking cognizance of the exceptional commitment and hard work of the medical college faculty fighting against the COVID pandemic for the past more than one year, the Chief Minister announced full credit of earned leave in lieu of their cancelled vacations.
“The medical college faculty have not been able to avail their summer and winter vacations during the pandemic period, and would have been deprived of this facility,” the Chief Minister pointed out, adding that these faculty members need to be compensated for their service and sacrifice. “The Government has decided to give them full credit against their 30 days of annual earned leave period against their cancelled vacation periods,” he said.
The Chief Minister also asked the senior officials to explore other incentives for healthcare workers as a token of the State Government’s appreciation.