200 allowed for open gatherings, 50 for indoor events: Haryana govt

Taking cognisance of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Haryana, the administration issued an order on Thursday to prevent large crowding at public gatherings

Taking cognisance of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Haryana, the administration issued an order on Thursday to prevent large crowding at public gatherings. According to the statement, from now on, maximum 200 people can attend public functions in open spaces, and maximum 50 in indoor events. Also, only 20 people attend funerals.

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On Thursday, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had directed the district administration to focus on implementation of the coronavirus safeguards strictly, while imposing curbs on gatherings. The state government had also issued an official statement on this.

Dr Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said on Thursday, “There will be a curtail in public gatherings in view of the rising Covid-19 cases. The number of people allowed in open spaces is 200, and 50 in closed spaces. The economic activities will continue as before, but everyone will have to follow Covid-19 safeguards strictly to prevent the spread of the virus.”

CM Khattar had issued these directions while holding a meeting in Chandigarh with senior officials, deputy commissioners, and health department officials through video conferencing. The CM also directed the police to enforce mask discipline, and social distancing among the people. He asked urban local bodies and district administrations to focus on contact tracing, sanitisation, and better enforcement of micro-containment zones, according to the officials, privy to the meeting.

The CM had indicated during the meeting that there is no plan to impose lockdown like last year “to keep the economic cycle running”. “The economic activity had stalled due to the lockdown last year, which took about six months to get back on track. Therefore, we have to keep in mind that the economic cycle should keep going in the state, and that no one is adversely affected,” Khattar had said during the meeting.

He also directed all the deputy commissioners to issue an advisory in their respective districts to ensure that night-time ceremonies, including Navaratri programmes, be conducted during the day.

The officials, privy to the meeting, said that the CM directed the police department and other civic agencies to impose penalties for not wearing masks and violating social distancing. “The police department was asked to take strict action against the violators and issue challans, and also distribute masks among the people. The urban local bodies and district administrations have been asked to focus on contact tracing, improving sanitisation, and manage micro-containment zones in a better way,” said an official, who was at the meeting.

Haryana health minister Anil Vij, who also attended the meeting, said that the government wants to deal with the coronavirus situation with strictness, instead of imposing lockdown in the state. “We can withstand the resentment of people by acting strictly but cannot see people dying. The virus is more aggressive this time,” Vij said.

The CM has also reached out to the farmers and asked them to withdraw their movement on humanitarian grounds. If they want to hold protests for their demands, they can do it when the situation improves, he said, adding that the deputy commissioners have been directed to contact the agitating farmers, and try to persuade them.

Meanwhile, Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), said that the health departments across the state were asked to increase testing and vaccination, and boost the health care facilities in terms of general beds, ICU beds, and ventilators. “Gurugram is already testing over 10,000 people per day, but in line with the directions, we will try to increase the testing numbers. The session sites for vaccinations will also be increased,” said Yadav, adding that the health department is working closely with the district administration to expand testing and vaccine outreach.