GB Nagar, Ghaziabad get respite from Covid curfew

/Ghaziabad: With the number of new and active Covid-19 cases declining, the Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad administrations announced relaxations in partial Covid curfew in the districts from Monday, after a gap of 37 days

/Ghaziabad: With the number of new and active Covid-19 cases declining, the Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad administrations announced relaxations in partial Covid curfew in the districts from Monday, after a gap of 37 days.

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The restrictions had been put in place in the two districts on April 30. On May 30, however, the state government had said that districts which had less than 600 cases may lift restrictions. So far, 71 of the 75 districts in the state, including Ghaziabad and GB Nagar, have managed to bring down the number of active cases to below 600-mark.

If the number of active cases breaches the mark, the partial curfew will come automatically into place, state officials had said.

The joy of lifting of restrictions, however, comes with riders and might be a short-lived affair. With 91 fresh cases detected on Sunday in GB Nagar, and 30 new cases detected in Ghaziabad, the tally of active cases reached 583 – only 17 short to come under the partial curfew bracket once again – in GB Nagar, and 496 – only four short of the 600-mark – in Ghaziabad.

“Due to this rider, we will keep enforcement at a heightened level and will also conduct checks in high case-load areas like Indirapuram, Vaishali and Sahibabad, among others. From now on, efforts will be directed towards keeping the tally of active cases below 600. Discussions were held with residents, transporters, market associations and other stakeholders and they were told that it is the collective responsibility of all to check the spread of the virus,” said Shailendra Kumar Singh, additional district magistrate (city), Ghaziabad.

Despite the relaxations coming into place, weekend as well as night curfews will continue to be in place in both districts, officials said.

“All directions issued by the UP government on May 30 regarding the curfew relaxation will apply to the district. The weekends will be observed as days of closure while night restrictions will remain in place from 7pm to 7am (next day) every day,” the ADM added.

“During the weekend, cleanliness, sanitisation and fogging will be conducted. A maximum of two passengers will be allowed in three-wheelers, three in e-rickshaws, and four in four-wheelers, with proper masking and social distancing,” said GB Nagar DM Suhas LY.

Shops and markets outside containment zones are allowed to remain open from 7 am to 7 pm, while vegetable markets located in densely populated areas have been told to function in open places. “All cinemas, gyms, swimming pools, clubs and shopping malls will also remain closed during this particular relaxation span,” Suhas said.

Besides, eateries cannot allow in-house dining. “Restaurants can only offer home delivery,” Suhas said.

Suhas said that while it is mandatory for all frontline workers to be present in their offices, the remaining government offices will function with 50% attendance on a rotational basis.

“It is mandatory for all offices to have their own Covid-19 helpdesks. Industrial units can also operate, following Covid-appropriate guidelines. Private sector firms, meanwhile, have been asked to encourage their employees to work from home. None of the offices can allow any employee who had Covid-19 symptoms to come to office. Setting up of a Covid helpdesk has been made mandatory for all of units,” he said.

All private and government schools, colleges and other educational institutes will remain closed till further notice. “These institutions can continue with online classes for their students, including coaching centres,” Suhas said.

Suhas also said that only five devotees will be allowed inside a place of worship at a time. “A maximum of 20 people will be allowed for funeral processions, while only 25 members will be allowed at wedding. However, in any case, the attendants will have to follow standard Covid-19 protocols of social distancing and sanitisation,” the DM said.

“The traders have decided that they will not deal with customers who come without face masks. On our part, we will provide masks to such customers. If they still do not wear it, we will not entertain them. Since markets are opening after a long time, there will be a huge crowd but authorities must ensure strict enforcement. We do not want that active cases go up and we have to shut shops once again,” said Rajneesh Bansal, chairperson of Turab Nagar Vyapar Mandal, a traders’ association.

The Ghaziabad industries’ federation said it has already set up Covid help desks and isolation rooms for workers. “The arrangements will continue as the virus has not gone away and we must observe all precautions. Further, we want that vaccination for workers in industrial units should also take place,” said Anil Gupta, general secretary of the federation.

The overall tally GB Nagar was 62,734 by Sunday. With two more fatalities the death toll has reached 459. It is fifth in UP in most number of active cases. Only Meerut, Lucknow, Saharanpur and Gorakhpur have over 600 active cases now.

Ghaziabad’s tally reached 55,248. The district saw three new fatalities, its toll now at 451.

“We are conducting about 8,000 tests per day, and will continue this trend even during relaxation days. Our focus is now on testing and at present about 30% testing is done daily in rural areas,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer of Ghaziabad.

“Since restrictions will be relaxed, utmost precaution and enforcement will be needed to keep active cases below 600. The authorities should also strengthen health infrastructure so as to deal with post-Covid problems,” said Dr Ashish Agarwal, president, Indian Medical Association (Ghaziabad).

“It will be a challenge, but we will continue with enforcement. This will be against people not wearing masks. We will continue night checking and barricading,” said Nipun Agarwal, superintendent of police (city 1), Ghaziabad.