BADNORE ANNOUNCES MAJOR RELIEF IN COVID RESTRICTIONS FROM WAR RO
THE VOICE OF CHANDIGARH NEWS
Hon’ble Governor of Punjab and Administrator, UT Chandigarh, Sh. VP Singh Badnore today presided over War Room meeting. The meeting was attended by Sh. Manoj Parida, Adviser to the Administrator, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary Home, Sh. Sanjay Baniwal, Director General of Police & Dr. Vijay Namdeorao Zade, Finance Secretary at Punjab Raj Bhawan. Sh. KK Yadav, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Sh. Mandip Singh Brar, Deputy Commissioner, UT, Sh. Yashpal Garg, CEO, Chandigarh Housing Board, Sh. Vinod P. Kavle, Secretary IT, Sh. SS Gill, Secretary Education, Sh. Uma Shankar Gupta, Director Transport and Deputy Commissioners of Mohali & Panchkula, Director, PGIMER, Director Principal, GMCH-32 & Director Health Services, GMSH-16 attended through Video Conferencing.
WAR ROOM DIRECTIONS:
Dr. Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER stated that they have 167 covid cases in PGIMER, out of which 17 belong to Chandigarh, 94 to Punjab, 27 to Haryana, 15 to Himachal Pradesh & 14 from other states. He also mentioned that they have tested 10,540 samples and the positivity rate was 3.5%. On an enquiry from Hon’ble Administrator, Director, PGIMER stated that the health condition of Sh. Milkha Singh is stable and is being monitored regularly. The Administrator directed that there should be round-the-clock monitoring for increasing number of Mucormycosis (Black fungus) cases, who have been admitted in the hospitals. He also requested PGIMER to reserve exclusive beds for children to handle such cases, if they come in the 3rd wave. On an enquiry by the Administrator, the Director, PGIMER stated that 3 oxygen plants are coming up in PGIMER with a capacity of 3,000 litres per minute. These plants are likely to be operational in near future.
Director Principal, GMCH-32 stated that they have tested 8,000 covid samples and the positivity rate was 1.4%. He also mentioned that they have treated 60 Mucormycosis (Black fungus) cases, out of which 36 are receiving treatment as indoor patients. He further mentioned that everyday, nearly 450 patients are being treated in OPDs.
Dr. Amandeep Kang, Director Health Services stated that the positivity rate has come down from 23% to 3.9%. She mentioned that the recovery rate was 97.5% and the fatality rate was 1.27%. She also mentioned that the doubling rate is now 530 days.
As regards vaccines, Dr. Kang stated that 3,82,598 doses have been administered to the residents in Chandigarh. There has been minus 4.2% wastage of vaccines. This has been possible due to innovative approach of collecting and utilizing every drop of vaccine in the vial. She also mentioned that special vaccination drive was conducted for teachers, shopkeepers, Secretariat employees, CITCO employees and Transport employees. Hon’ble Governor of Punjab and Administrators directed all the heads of medical institutions to ensure that all health staff and frontline workers are duly vaccinated. He also directed that exclusive beds should be kept in reserve for children, in case of any eventuality of 3rd wave. It was decided to get the hospital in Sector 45, ESI Hospital, beds in Sector 16 Hospital, PGIMER and temporary Army Hospital in Panjab University in readiness for such paediatric covid patients.
The Administrator directed that Sero-Survey should be conducted in the entire city. The PGIMER will conduct sero tests for persons below 18 years of age and the entire expenses will be borne by the Chandigarh Administration. GMCH will conduct sero survey of persons above the age of 18 years.
Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula stated that they have 425 active cases and the positivity rate was 2.5%, Deputy Commissioner, Mohali stated that they have 1,431 active cases and the positivity rate was 6.9% and Deputy Commissioner, UT, Chandigarh stated that they have 833 active cases and the positivity rate was 3.9%.
After detailed discussions in the War Room, the following decisions were taken :-
All shops will remain open from 10:00 AM to 06:00 PM. The shop owners will ensure that covid protocol is duly followed. All persons must wear masks and shopping areas must be regularly sanitized. Shopkeepers can be penalized for any violaton of covid protocol.
All restaurants/bars can remain open with 50% capacity from 10:00 AM to 09:00 PM.
The night curfew in the city will be from 10:00 PM to 05:00 AM.
There will be a total weekend closure on Sunday. Only the essential shops will be allowed to open. The movement of vehicles will be restricted.
The shopping malls can remain open from 10:00 AM to 06:00 PM. However, the eating outlets inside the malls can remain open till 08:00 PM. The malls must ensure that there is no crowding within the shops or in the open areas. Necessary screening of visitors to check temperature etc. and to properly sanitize them should be arranged at the entrance of the malls. Gyms, Wellness Centres, Clubs and Spas will be allowed to open with 50% capacity. The owners must ensure that the members using the facility are vaccinated. Strict covid protocol must be followed.
The Cinema Halls and Theatres will remain closed. Museums and Libraries will be open.
The gathering for marriages, cremation or any other gathering will be restricted to maximum 30 persons. The covid protocol needs to be strictly followed.
The Sukhna Lake will remain open for visitors from 05:00 AM to 08:00 PM. However, no boating will be allowed. The police will ensure that the visitors at lake follow the covid protocol strictly, failing which challans will be issued. Sukhna Lake will remain closed on Sunday.
