No Public Holi Celebrations In Delhi, Schools Closed In Odisha: States Order Covid-19 Restrictions | Check Details

Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, several state governments have laid new guidelines to be followed to curb the spread of the infection. 

In view of a persistent rise in coronavirus cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday ordered that there will be no public celebrations in the national capital for upcoming festivals such Holi and Navaratri.

Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev directed authorities to ensure strict compliance with the order.

Delhi:

"All authorities concerned will ensure that public celebrations and gatherings, congregations during upcoming festivals like Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navaratri etc shall not be allowed in public places/public grounds/public parks/markets/religious places etc in NCT of Delhi," Dev said in his order.

Delhi reported 1,101 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest in over three months, while four people succumbed to the disease during the same period, the health department said. It was the first time since December 24 that the city recorded more than 1,000 Covid-19 cases. 

The DDMA in its meeting on Monday, attended by Lt Governor and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had discussed the emerging virus situation in the metropolis.

Maharashtra:

Considering the rise in Covid-19 cases in the finance capital of the country, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also announced that Holi celebrations, on March 28 and 29, will not be permitted in both private or public places in Mumbai. 

Telangana:

All educational institutions in Telangana would be temporarily closed from Wednesday and offer online classes to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the wake of a spurt in fresh cases in recent days, including from some schools, the state government said.

Making a statement in the state assembly, Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy said the closure order will be applicable to all government and private-run educational institutions, hostels, and gurukul institutions, barring medical colleges.

Odisha:

Meanwhile, the state government of Odisha on Tuesday modified some of its orders for stricter enforcement of measures in view of a possible resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Odisha Chief Secretary in an order said that though the state had earlier in the March guideline had allowed a congregation of 500 people during marriage and 200 participants in funeral functions, now it is reduced to 200 people and 50 people respectively.

The order also said that the new enforcement will come to effect from March 26.

Similarly, it said in closed spaces, the attendance will be a maximum of 50 per cent of the hall capacity subject to the new ceilings. In open spaces, an appropriate number of persons should be allowed keeping in view the ground/open space size to ensure physical distancing norms could be maintained, it said.

Any person found violating the order, will be punished under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and other relevant laws, the order said.

Issuing fresh guidelines for April, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Tuesday asked all states and union territories to increase RT-PCR tests, strictly enforce test-track-treat protocol, and speed up the pace of vaccination to cover all priority groups.

The state governments and union territory administrations should strictly enforce the test-track-treat protocol in all parts of the country, ensure observance of Covid-19-appropriate behaviour by everyone and, scale up the vaccination drive to cover all the target groups, the guidelines said. 

The home ministry said based on the positive cases and tracking of their contacts, containment zones shall be carefully demarcated by the district authorities at the micro-level taking into consideration the guidelines prescribed by the Union Health Ministry.

(With inputs from PTI)