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Pune dist imposes tighter restrictions to curb Covid surge
New guidelines effective today onwards; restrictions apply to entire district. Strict action against violators, says civic official
A day after the Pune district reported over 2,800 new Covid cases, the administration on Friday announced tighter restrictions though it shied away from imposing complete lockdown imposed by some cities in the state.
“As per the new rules, schools and colleges will remain closed till March 31, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to function till 10 pm while food deliveries will be permitted till 11 pm and gardens will remain closed in the evenings,” said Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao after meeting with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
The new guidelines will be effective Friday midnight and the restrictions apply to urban and rural parts of the district.
Rao announced that dine-in timings at restaurants and bars have been advanced by an hour though parcel service will be allowed till 11 pm. Restaurants/bars are allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity. The existing guidelines about night curfew between 11 pm to 6 remain unchanged with essential services exempted from these restrictions.
Under the new rules, hoteliers will have to display a board at the entrance. Which will give information about total seating capacity, 50 per cent seating capacity and seats occupied.
Malls, cinema halls, theatres and shops (non-essential goods) will close at 10 pm and clubhouses in housing societies will remain closed till further order. The administration has asked housing society trustees to ensure that rules are followed.
The number of attendees at public and social gatherings has been reduced to 50 persons. “Strict legal action has been warned against the property owners who are found to be violating the rule,” said Rao.
“These decisions have been taken in the Covid review meeting. After 15 days we will review the situation again. In the meantime, everyone is advised to strictly follow the prevention norms. Strict action will be taken against those violating norms,” said Rao.
Earlier, the new set of restrictions were imposed in the Pune district on February 21.
While extending the closure of schools and colleges till March 31, the administration has exempted Class 10 and 12 students for necessary and important academic activity. At the same time, coaching classes for competitive examinations as well as libraries are allowed to be operated at 50 per cent capacity.
The administration has also announced that at the roadside eateries only five persons will be allowed at a time. “There will be continuous vigilance and strict action will be taken against the violators,” Rao said.
Pune currently has the highest numbers of active cases in the country. As of Thursday (March 11), there are a total of 429,973 Covid cases. Of this, 400,534 patients have recovered. There have been a total of 8,163 deaths in the district. At present, there are 21,276 active cases in the Pune district, according to the state health department.
