No takeaways from restaurants, only home deliveries allowed: Capt

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday banned all takeaway deliveries from restaurants, which, he said, was being used by youngsters as a pretext to move out of their homes

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday banned all takeaway deliveries from restaurants, which, he said, was being used by youngsters as a pretext to move out of their homes.

There are apps to book tables or play music at the pub, online food deliveries and virtual wallets. (Image: istock photos)

Chairing a virtual meeting to review the Covid situation, Amarinder directed the officials that only home deliveries of food should be allowed. He also gave permission for shops selling fertilisers to be open, modifying the additional restrictions imposed by the state home department a day ago.

Reiterating that he was not in favour of a complete and harsh lockdown, the CM warned people against laxity in adherence to the curbs imposed in the state.

If the the situation did not improve, we would be forced to consider a total lockdown, he said, adding that he had so far refrained from ordering a sweeping lockdown because it would hurt the poor the most and would lead to exodus of migrant labourers, plunging industries into chaos again.

‘Bed capacity to be increased by 20% in 10 days’

Underlining the need to step up preparedness amid projections of a peak in the coming days, Amarinder ordered 20% increase in bed capacity in the next 10 days. He directed the health and medical education departments to get stadiums, gymnasiums and other such places ready to house patients. Tented camps should be set up, and gyms/halls should be converted into L2 and L3 facilities to be prepared for the worst, he added.

Health minister Balbir Sidhu said the situation was grim with only 300 beds now available at L3 level in the state. Health secretary Hussan Lal pointed out that the state’s positivity rate had on Sunday stood at 12%, with the Malwa region showing increase cases in the last 7-10 days. The state’s overall CFR is close to 2%, and even higher in rural areas at 2.7%. The worrying factor was that 17% of all deaths had no co-morbid conditions, he said.

Journalists among frontline workers

The CM also announced the inclusion of all accredited and yellow card journalists in the state in the list of frontline warriors. All power corporation employees in the state have also been brought into the ambit of frontline workers. These employees, along with the journalists, will now be eligible for all benefits, including priority vaccination, that frontline workers are entitled to from the state government, he said.