Punjab Govt puts all rallies on hold till March 31, urges other political parties to adhere by guidelines

Punjab Congress will not hold any political gatherings forthe next two weeks in view of the spike in Covid cases in the state.

This was announced by Chief Minister Captain AmarinderSingh at a review meeting on the Covid situation.

Captain Amarinder also appealed to other political partiesand their leaders to keep their gatherings within the prescribed numbers ie 50%of capacity, subject to maximum of 100 in closed and 200 in open spaces. Nopolitical gatherings should take place in the most affected districts, he said.

Underlining the need for strict enforcement, the ChiefMinister ordered compulsory enforcement of wearing of Face Masks in the state.He directed the Police and Health authorities to take all those moving aroundand loitering in public areas, and on the roads and streets, without FaceMasks, to the nearest RT-PCR Testing Facility for taking nasopharyngeal swabs toensure that they are not asymptomatic Covid cases.

He asked DC Amritsar to talk to the Shiromani GurdwaraPrabhandak Committee (SGPC) and management of Durgiana temple to encouragedevotees to wear masks inside the shrines.

The rise in cases was a matter of serious concern,particularly in rural areas which had seen much fewer cases last year, said theChief Minister, directing the concerned departments to launch awarenesscampaigns in villages.

Earlier, Earlier, Health & Family Welfare MinisterBalbir Sidhu said unlike previously, when there were more cases in urban areas,Covid cases were now almost equally divided between urban and rural areas. Bothhe and Minister OP Soni called for restrictions on political and socialgatherings.