Capt asks villagers to restrict entry of Covid positive people

CM called for strict measures in the rural areas over the next two months, which he described as extremely crucial

Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday urged people to restrict their movement in villages to only those persons who are free of the virus amid Covid spike in rural areas of the state.

Villagers stopping a man from entering Bhokhra village in Bathinda on Friday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

Addressing the people of the state in a live Facebook telecast, the CM called for strict measures in the rural areas over the next two months, which he described as extremely crucial.

“Now, the rural areas are seeing a surge in cases, so we need to be very careful,” he said, urging villagers to conduct ‘thikri pheras’ to keep outsiders away.

“Don’t allow (unwell) people to enter (villages). Ask them to bring a (COVID-negative) certificate from the doctor,” he said.

Exhorting people to “save your mohallas and villages to save yourself, your families and Punjab”, the CM asked them not to delay going to hospitals on time. “We have teams of doctors everywhere, approach them if you feel unwell,” he urged them, stressing that delay in going for treatment was leading to people ending up in critical category. While occupancy of L2 beds is 50%, at the L3 level (critical), around 90% of the beds are currently occupied, and the state government is in the process of adding another 2,000, he said, attributing this to people not going for treatment in time.

Amarinder reiterated his plea to the people to go to the doctor at the first sign of symptoms. “Let the doctor decide the course of treatment, don’t get into diagnosis and medication yourself,” he appealed to them. I fail to understand why we are harming the interests of the state and your families in this manner,” he said.