haryana covid-19

COVID-19: Night Curfew Imposed In Haryana From 9 PM to 5 AM as Cases Surge

On Monday, Haryana reported a record spike of 3,818 cases – the highest in the state in nearly five months.

Chandigarh: The Haryana government on Monday imposed night curfew in the state with immediate effect amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

“Night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am will be imposed from tonight and will remain in force till further orders,” Home and Health Minister Anil Vij said.

He said the decision has been taken in the wake of an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state recently.

“The situation will be assessed after a few days after which a decision on continuation of night curfew will be taken,” Vij said.

Haryana home minister Anil Vij. Photo: PTI/File

However, there shall be no curbs on inter-state and intra-state movement of essential and non-essential goods. Emergency and municipal services, people tasked with law and services, police, military and paramilitary personnel have been exempted from the curfew, according to an order.

Vij said that additional chief secretaries of the home, health and urban local bodies departments have been instructed to ensure people wear masks and follow all other COVID-related guidelines.

On Monday, Haryana reported a record spike of 3,818 cases, the highest in nearly five months, according to a health department bulletin.

In the past several days, there has been a daily surge in the number of cases in the state, with districts like Gurgaon, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Faridabad reporting big spikes.

The order issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority said that the Centre and the Haryana government have issued various guidelines from time to time to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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However, there has been a recent surge in number of cases and therefore, it is imperative to put in place strict measures of isolation and social distancing to contain the spread, it said.

It was mentioned in the order that there has been a lot of non-essential movement of people and vehicles during the night.

There shall be prohibition on movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 9 pm to 5 am in Haryana. No person shall leave their homes or shall move on foot or by vehicle or travel or stand or roam around on any road or public places during the restricted hours, according to the order.

However, services and movement of persons related to law and order, emergencies and municipal duties have been exempted from the curfew, it said.

Executive magistrates, police personnel, military, paramilitary personnel in uniform, health, electricity and fire personnel, media persons with accreditation, and the government machinery tasked with COVID-19 related duties will face no restrictions, the order said.

Also, those specially issued a restricted movement curfew pass by officers authorised on this behalf are exempted, it said, adding that there will be no curbs on inter-state and intra-state movement of essential and non-essential goods.

All vehicle and persons in bonafide transit (inter-state or intra-state) shall be allowed to pass, but only after verification of point of origin and destination, the order said.

Hospitals, chemist shops and ATMs will remain open round-the-clock.

Pregnant women and patients going to get medical services and passengers going to or returning from airport or railway stations will be exempted.

Those violating the orders will face action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Chaos on Highways as Haryana Seals Borders With Delhi

The Haryana government said there has been a surge of coronavirus infections in the districts bordering Delhi.

New Delhi: There was a huge pile up of vehicles on both sides of the Delhi-Gurugram border on Friday morning as Haryana sealed its borders with the national capital following a surge in COVID-19 cases. Earlier, the state’s home minister Anil Vij, issued an order sealing the border due to a spike in novel coronavirus cases in four districts of the state that share their boundaries with Delhi – namely Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar.

However, as prior information about the Haryana government’s plan to seal the border was not made available to the travelling public, lakhs of commuters and vehicles carrying goods got stuck at the borders. In the searing heat, people faced a lot of hardship as vehicles were turned back. The chaos saw many stuck near the borders for close to three-four hours.

A large number of people travel between Delhi and the satellite townships in Haryana on a regular basis for work. The sealing of the border caught them completely off-guard, as it came just as people were getting used to a resumption of normal work after the relaxation of the lockdown restrictions.

Incidentally, the sealing of the borders serves as a reminder of the perils of relaxing the lockdown too soon. At a time when people were bracing for further relaxation of restrictions, the sealing of the borders has come as a rude shock. Some commuters questioned why the Haryana government did not announce its decision to seal the border beforehand, as it would have saved many people from inconvenience. “If they had let us known yesterday, we would not have come out this morning,” said a resident of Sector 56, Gurugram, who commutes to Delhi for work.

Meanwhile, Vij was quoted as saying that he has “issued orders today [Friday] that in the districts adjoining Delhi, no leniency should be shown.” He argued that 80% of Haryana’s coronavirus cases were being reported in the districts adjoining Delhi. “Therefore,” he added, “we are maintaining strictness on our borders with the national capital and keeping these sealed.”

The minister, however, clarified that vehicles ferrying essential services and people engaged in these services would be allowed to ply. However, on Fruday, many of these vehicles were also stuck in the long traffic jam that was created on both sides of the border.

Earlier, Haryana had given an undertaking before the Delhi high court that it would only allow movement of people from Delhi on the production of e-passes which are being issued to those engaged in providing essential services, including medical professionals.

The e-pass, it said, would be issued within 30 minutes of application and would remain valid for multiple visits during the lockdown.

Haryana’s decision to seal the borders was influenced by a large part of the state’s 1,504 COVID-19 cases being reported in the four districts around Delhi. The state believes that putting a curb on travel would bring down the infection rate. These districts have also witnessed a large number of deaths, with Faridabad reporting seven fatalities, following by Gurugram (3) and Sonipat (1).

As far as new cases go, Gurugram reported 68 more on Thursday while 18 fresh cases were reported from Faridabad and four from Sonipat. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Gurugram has gone up to 405, while the tally of Faridabad has touched 276, Sonipat 180 and Jhajjar 97.

‘All Students Till Class 8 to be Promoted Without Final Exams’: Haryana CM

Manohar Lal Khattar also asked people to maintain social distancing.

Chandigarh: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said school students from classes 1 to 8 will be promoted to the next academic year without taking up annual examinations as the schools are closed due to the nationwide lockdown.

The Chief Minister said the examination for the science subject for Class 10 of the State Board has not been conducted as the lockdown had been announced by then and the students’ results will be declared on the basis of other subjects they appeared in, according to an official statement here.

Also read: With Temporary Shelters, Haryana and UP Try to Stop Migrant Labourers From Walking to Villages

Khattar also urged the people of the state to maintain social distancing during celebrations while staying home as there are a few festivals next week including Baisakhi.

“We should maintain social distancing during these festivals,” he said.