Jaipur: With a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, the Rajasthan government has tightened curbs including an 11 hour night curfew from 6 pm to 5 am across the state.
The government also decided to suspend the Class 10 and Class 12 state board exams in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
Chief minister Ashok Gehlot held a review meeting of the Covid situation in the state on Wednesday night. The new norms were announced after the meeting.
Asking people to strictly follow Covid protocols and avoid unnecessary travel, Gehlot said the second wave of the coronavirus is more aggressive. He said in the first wave the rural areas remained largely untouched by the virus but this time around, 30 percent cases are being reported from rural areas and 60 percent infections are among those below 46 years of age.
He said the positivity rate and mortality rate are higher in the first 10 days of April than it was at the peak of the first wave in September-October 2020.
All shops and business establishments will have t shut down by 5 pm while all offices in the state will have to shut by 4. The night curfew will be enforced till April 30, 2021.
Other curbs have also been placed including shutting down of educational and coaching institutions. Cinema halls, multiplexes, theatres, gyms and swimming pools will remain shut. No social, religious, cultural functions or sporting events will be allowed.
A maximum of 50 guests will be allowed at weddings as against 100 guests earlier. No more than 20 people can attend funerals. Restaurants and clubs are allowed to function with 50 percent capacity. Restaurants and clubs will have to follow the night curfew timings but home deliveries are allowed till 8 pm.
Factories, bus stands, railway stations, airports IT companies, medical shops have been exempted from the night curfew.
Rajasthan reported 6,200 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths on Wednesday with Jaipur reporting 1325 cases. The tally of active cases has shot up to 44905 in the state. Cases have been rising through March and April. On April 13, the state recorded 5528 new cases while on April 12, the figure was 5771 and 5105 on April 11. On April 10, 4401 cases were recorded.
