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Religious places marriage halls to reopen, market timings extended in Rajasthan
Rajasthan recorded five more coronavirus deaths and 141 fresh cases on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities and infections in the state to 8,910 and 951,967, respectively.
The Rajasthan government on Saturday gave further relaxations from restrictions imposed to curb the second wave of coronavirus in the state by extending hours of operation for markets and allowing marriage ceremonies and reopening of religious places with restrictions. Public transport and movement of private vehicles have also been given the green signal with certain conditions in the new guidelines called Unlock 3.0, which will be effective from June 28.
Markets or commercial establishments such as gyms and restaurants, where at least 60% of the workforce has received at least the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, will be allowed to stay open for additional 3 hours till 7 pm.
Marriage ceremonies will be allowed in banquet halls from July 1 with presence of no more than 40 guests but the ban on taking out marriage processions, holding feasts and disc jockeys will continue as per the guidelines.
The government offices will now be allowed to open till 6 pm, while business establishments, where employees have been vaccinated, can remain open till 7 pm.
Full physical attendance will be allowed in government offices with less than 25 staff members and 50% for the rest. In offices, where 60% of the personnel have received the first dose of the vaccine, 100% staff will be allowed to attend to work physically. The office hours will be from 9:30 am to 6 pm.
The guidelines have also allowed the operation of city/mini buses if the driver and conductor have got at least the first dose of the vaccine. Similarly, private vehicles will be allowed to ply from 5 am to 8 pm except for Sundays. Public parks will also be open to all from 5 am to 8 am.
Night curfew in the state will be in effect from 8 pm to 5 am on weekdays and on the weekend, it will begin on Saturday 8 pm and end at 5 am on Monday.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that vaccination was the only effective way to prevent coronavirus but reminded people of the experts’ view that threat from the new variants of the virus remained. He therefore advised adherence to the Covid containment protocols such as wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing to protect against the possible third wave of the disease.
Rajasthan recorded five more coronavirus deaths and 141 fresh cases on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities and infections in the state to 8,910 and 951,967, respectively. The number of active cases at present is 1,839, in the state, according to a health department bulletin. Of the fresh cases, the maximum 37 were reported from Alwar, followed by 20 from Jaipur, it said.
