'Can face people's anger, can't see piles of bodies...': Haryana health minister Anil Vij on fresh Covid curbs

Haryana on Thursday further reduced the number of people who can assemble in outdoor and indoor functions.

Hours after Haryana announced fresh guidelines to further tighten rules in view of the surging coronavirus disease (Covid-19), state health minister Anil Vij said the government was ready to face the anger of people but not to see 'piles of bodies'. There were only two ways to curb coronavirus, Vij said, adding that one of them was imposing a lockdown. "There are only two ways to contain Covid -- one is a lockdown, which is not viable because we want lives to go on and people to be safe at the same time, and the other is the observance of all guidelines. I have asked officers to implement Covid rules strictly even if it irks people. We can face their anger but we can't see piles of bodies," Vij told news agency ANI.

Haryana home minister Anil Vij on Thursday stressed on the importance of following Covid-19 guidelines.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Haryana on Thursday further reduced the number of people who can assemble in outdoor and indoor functions. “It has been decided that from now on, not more than 200 people can gather in open spaces during public functions and not more than 50 in indoor functions. Similarly, not more than 20 people will be able to attend funerals,” an official spokesperson of the BJP-JJP coalition government said.

The fresh guidelines come a little over 10 days after the government announced that beginning April 5, 50 people can attend a funeral in the state. At indoor events, not more than 50 per cent of the venue's capacity or 200 people will be allowed, the government said in its earlier announcement. For outdoor functions, it decided to allow 500 people to assemble.

The decision to further tighten curbs was taken after with 5,858 new Covid-19 cases, Haryana’s active coronavirus disease count crossed 30,000 on Thursday. As many as 18 new fatalities were recorded in the state, taking the death toll to 3,316. This was the highest ever single-day surge in new cases ever since the pandemic broke out last year.

(with agency inputs)