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As Covid cases slide, Chandigarh eases restrictions
Night curfew hours slashed by 2.5 hours; full attendance allowed at Chandigarh’s private and government offices
Taking into account the steady decline in Covid-19 cases and positivity rate, the UT administration on Thursday allowed relaxations in the restrictions announced last month.
Though the night curfew will remain in place, it will last from 12.30am to 5am, instead of from 10pm, as was in force since January 6.
During the night curfew, only essential activities, including emergency and health services, transport of essential goods, operation of multiple shifts in industries and offices, movement of people and goods on national and state highways, unloading of cargo, and travel to destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and airplanes will be permitted.
The detailed prohibitory order under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure will be issued by the UT district magistrate.
Before imposing it again in January, the administration had eased the night curfew on August 17, 2021, after the second wave had waned.
Bigger gatherings allowed
Gatherings for any purpose have been increased from 50 to 100 for indoor events and 100 to 200 for outdoor events. But total attendees must not exceed the venue’s 50% capacity.
The 50% cap on physical attendance of employees in both private and public sectors has been removed. These establishments can now function with 100% employees in attendance.
Also, in major relief for the hospitality sector, all hotels, restaurants, cafés, coffee shops an eating places, including home delivery, will be allowed to function till 12am.
These decisions were taken in the Covid review meeting chaired by UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit.
An order regarding the relaxations was issued by UT adviser Dharam Pal later in the day. It will come into force on February 4 and remain applicable till further orders.
Earlier on January 27, the administration had allowed schools to resume physical classes for Classes 10 to 12 from February 1. All universities and colleges were also permitted to resume normal functioning. All public libraries were allowed to open at 50% capacity.
Besides, gyms and health centres were allowed to operate till 10pm at 50% capacity, subject to all staff present and users being fully vaccinated.
GMCH-32, GMSH-16 told to resume physical OPDs
UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit also directed city government hospitals to resume the walk-in facility at their outpatient departments (OPDs), at 50% capacity, at the earliest.
Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, will soon chalk out a complete plan on resuming the walk-in services before announcing the reopening date.
The tele-consultation facility will continue with the physical OPDs.
PGIMER to wait for another week
However, the Post Graduate Institute to Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has no immediate plans to resume walk-in physical OPDs and will continue to ask patients to take prior appointments through tele-consultation.
“At present, the Covid-19 wards are occupied by around 100 patients and community transmission of the virus has not ended. Therefore, we cannot resume walk-in OPDs for at least another week, as crowding can lead to widespread infections,” said Dr Surjit Singh, director, PGIMER.
Meanwhile, the UT administrator has directed the institute to enhance its daily OPD consultations from 4,000 to around 6,000.
In the past five days, PGIMER has given 11,500 physical consultations after appointments, besides 12,500 tele-consultations. The institute has also conducted around 580 surgeries on non-Covid patients and 38 surgeries on infected patients in the same time period.
After a sudden spike in the daily Covid-19 cases in early January, PGIMER, GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 had decided to suspend their walk-in OPD facilities from January 10, stating that the decision was taken to prevent exposure of comorbid patients to Covid infection.
Though PGIMER was allowing physical consultations after prior appointments, GMCH-32 had opened its OPDs only for obstetrics and radiation and oncology.
Similarly, GMSH-16 was running physical OPDs only for obstetrics and paediatrics.
Tricity’s Covid cases dip to 722, lowest in a month
After a slight spike on Wednesday, tricity’s Covid-19 cases again returned to the downward path, with 722 new infections on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the tricity’s daily cases had jumped to 821, after receding for 12 straight days.
Thursday’s tally was also lowest in nearly a month when the tricity saw the cases spiking to an all-time high of 3,907 on January 16.
Chandigarh’s cases dipped from 364 to 290 and Mohali’s from 299 to 245 in the past 24 hours. But Panchkula logged a rise from 158 to 187.
For the second consecutive day, the tricity also recorded four virus-related deaths, including three in Chandigarh and one in Mohali.
The deaths in Chandigarh included that of a 97-year-old man from Sector 22, who died at GMSH-16. He was not vaccinated against Covid, and also suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
A 76-year-old woman from Ram Darbar, who died at a private hospital, was also not vaccinated, and was suffering from hypertension and bilateral pneumonia.
The third deceased, a 95-year-old woman from Maloya, was fully vaccinated, but suffered acute respiratory distress syndrome while under treatment at PGIMER.
The patient who succumbed in Mohali was a 75-year-old man from Jawaharpur village in Dera Bassi. He was admitted at GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh.
Currently, the tricity has 5,947 Covid-positive patients, including 2,908 in Mohali, 2,315 in Chandigarh and 724 in Panchkula.
