Haryana, Tamil Nadu ease curbs as ‘unlock’ continues

Haryana State Disaster Management Authority in an order Sunday evening said preventive and precautionary measures to contain the pandemic will continue despite a decline in the Covid positivity rate. “All colleges, coaching institutions, ITIs, libraries, training institutions whether government or private shall remain closed till further orders in the state,” the order said.

Shopping malls will be allowed to remain open from 10 am to 8 pm, while restaurants and bars will allowed from 10 am to 10 pm with 50 per cent capacity and with Covid precautions. “Home delivery from hotels, restaurants and fast food joints is permitted up to 10 pm,” the order said.

According to the order, religious places will be allowed to open with 21 people at a time on the condition that they follow social distancing and other Covid appropriate behaviour. Corporate offices will be permitted to open with 50 per cent attendance.

Gathering in weddings will also be allowed for up to 21 people but no wedding procession will be allowed.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced more relaxations in 27 districts of the state, including permission for tea shops to reopen from Monday. However, there will be no easing of curbs in 11 districts – seven in western and four in Cauvery delta regions. Restaurants and bakeries have already been allowed to function. Salons, parks and state-run liquor outlets in 27 districts in the state would also reopen. Places of worship and tourist locations will continue to remain closed and there would be no public or private bus services.

Karnataka will also begin the unlock process, barring in 11 districts, from Monday, with the opening of parks and industrial units with riders.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration also announced further easing of restrictions in eight districts which showed significant improvement in the Covid-19 situation. The decision to grant relaxations in Shopian, Kulgam, Ganderbal and Bandipora in Kashmir division and Poonch, Reasi, Ramban and Doda in Jammu division was taken at a meeting which discussed the total weekly new cases (per million) and positivity rate among other issues, an official order said.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said a decision on further relaxations, including reopening of gymnasiums, will be made on the basis of suggestions before June 15, as he announced that now 40 people can participate in a wedding instead of the earlier 20.

While Bihar lifted its lockdown on June 9 with some restrictions like night curfew continuing, Uttar Pradesh had last Tuesday extended relaxations in curbs to all 75 districts of the state following a dip in the number of active cases.

The Punjab government gave relaxations, including allowing shops to open till 6 pm, while adopting a graded approach to reopening. Telangana and Jharkhand have extended Covid-related restrictions with some relaxations.

With inputs from PTI