E-Paper
Covid curbs extended till July 10 in Punjab, opening of bars allowed
Skill development centres and universities have also been allowed to open, subjected to the staff and students having taken at least one dose of the vaccine
Amid rising concern over delta plus variant, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered extension of the Covid restrictions till July 10, but allowed opening of bars, pubs and taverns at 50% capacity from July 1.
Skill development centres and universities have also been allowed to open, subjected to the staff and students having taken at least one dose of the vaccine.
Announcing the relaxations at a high-level Covid review meeting, the CM made it clear that the bars, pubs and taverns would have to strictly maintain social distancing protocols, and waiters/servers/other employees should have taken at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
He made it clear that it would be the responsibility of the owners to ensure that the conditions are met.
Expressing satisfaction over the decline in positivity rate, the CM noted at a Covid review meeting that in some districts, it was still over 1%. The delta plus variant of the infection is a matter of concern, making it essential to continue with the curbs, he stressed.
Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the genome sampling of as many as 489 samples, including 276 sent in April, 100 in May and 113 in June, were still pending with the central lab. She also clarified that the delta plus variant was found in samples sent by the state government in May, whose results were given recently.
