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Covid: List of states that have & haven't lifted night curfews as crisis eases
While several states have withdrawn all restrictions on movement during night hours, some states have relaxed the curfew timings, but not lifted them completely to ensure the virus spread remains under control.
In the wake of a significant improvement in the Covid-19 pandemic scenario across the country, a number of states have eased most of the restrictions that were imposed weeks ago to contain a rapid spread of the virus, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Besides reopening of schools and colleges, offices and many of the public spaces, many states have lifted night curfews, while others have shortened the span of the overnight restrictions on movement.
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Among the states that have withdrawn the night curfews are Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Assam, while Bengal, Gujarat and Odisha have reduced the timings. Delhi is yet to take a call on the same and a decision in this regard is likely to be taken in the next meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
Following is a state-wise scenario on coronavirus-induced night curfews:
Maharashtra – The Uddhav Thackeray-led government has eased restrictions for 11 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, following a record fall in Covid cases. With this, there will be no more restrictions on night movement in Mumbai and beaches, parks, and gardens in the city can now remain open as per their usual timings. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also allowed restaurants and theatres to continue operations at 50 per cent capacity as per their usual timings.
Karnataka – Night curfew has been withdrawn across the state with schools and colleges in Bengaluru reopening as well. "From Monday, all classes will be operational in schools with the strict implementation of COVID19 appropriate behaviour and protocol," education minister BC Nagesh had tweeted after a meeting on the Covid situation in the state, headed by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, last week.
Andhra Pradesh – The night curfew from 11pm to 5am has been completely lifted as the southern state showed a marked decline in the positivity rate. Chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has, however, said virus-related norms must be followed at all times, adding masks must be worn in all public and commercial spaces.
Bihar– The Nitish Kumar government has also lifted movement restrictions at night and relaxed several other curbs which were in place for almost a month.
Jammu & Kashmir – The Jammu and Kashmir State Executive Committee (SEC) has announced the lifting of the night curfew after almost six months and opening of educational institutions in a phased manner.
Chandigarh – The Chandigarh administration eased the ongoing curbs, including the lifting of the night curfew and reopening schools and coaching institutes, last week. The curfew was in place from 12:30am to 5am. According to the fresh guidelines, schools and coaching institutes can reopen with full capacity from February 14. The classes will, however, take place in a hybrid mode.
Rajasthan – The Ashok Gehlot government has also brought an end to the night curfew that was in place since the second wave of Covid-19 last year. In one of its latest orders, the home department said the night curfew between 11pm and 5am would end.
Assam – The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government in the state decided to lift the night curfew between 11pm and 4am from February 15.
Bengal – Restrictions on movement continue to remain in Bengal. The curfew shall stay in force from midnight to 5 am till February 28. In view of an improvement in the coronavirus pandemic situation, the West Bengal government, however, revised several other restrictions and announced the reopening of all primary and upper primary schools with effect from February 16. The schools will be reopened with all related protocols in place.
Delhi – The national capital has a night curfew in place. The DDMA, in its meeting on 4 February, had extended the night curfew but slashed the timing by an hour from 11pm to 5am. Non-essential shops are allowed to open till 8pm due to the curfew. The government has also allowed the reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12 from 7 February, while that of the nursery to standard 8 from 14 February.
Uttar Pradesh – The Yogi Adityanath government has now relaxed night curfew timings by an hour. The state government has said in one of its orders that the night curfew will now be in place from 11pm to 6am instead of the previous 10pm to 6am. All schools from nursery to classes 12 will also reopen from Monday. The state government has also said that private and government offices are permitted to function at full capacity.
Gujarat – The Gujarat government has relaxed night curfew timings in eight major cities of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Gandhinagar. From February 11 to 18, curfew will be imposed in the eight cities from midnight till 5 am, instead of the earlier 10pm to 6am in 27 cities.
Odisha – The Naveen Patnaik government has relaxed a number of restrictions in the state, but extended the night curfew that will be in place in urban areas of the state between 10pm and 5am for February.
