With the Covid-19 surge showing no signs of abating, several states have clamped stringent restrictions, including night curfew, and are even mulling lockdown in their bid to stem the spread of the virus.
India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases crossed 1.50 crore with a record single-day rise of 2,73,810 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases surpassed the 19-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
Here is a list of states that have imposed lockdown-like restrictions or night curfew to check the spread of Covid:
Aizawl
A seven-day lockdown has come into force from Tuesday in Aizawl and 10 other district headquarters of Mizoram to contain the spread of Covid.
Though the state government order issued on Monday night did not use the word "lockdown", it said no resident in Aizawl municipal area and 10 other district headquarters should step out of their homes during the restriction period, which will remain effective from 4 am on April 20 to 4 am on April 26.
However, inter-village or intra-state movement is allowed with permission from the village or local-level task forces, it said.
Chandigarh
The Chandigarh administration has announced a weekend lockdown from 10 pm Friday to 5 am Monday. Essential services such as home delivery of food, medical stores would remain operational.
Karnataka
After hours of deliberation with the governor in a virtual meet, the Karnataka government on Tuesday late night imposed the night curfew in the whole state from April 21 till May 4. As per the order from the state government, the night curfew will come into force from 9 PM till 6 AM and all essential services will be exempted during this time. The Karnataka government also issued fresh guidelines to fight the second wave of the pandemic. Additionally, the state will also have a weekend curfew from 9 PM on Friday to 6 AM on Monday.
Night curfew is in place from 10 pm to 5 am every day will be imposed in Bengaluru, Mysore, Mangalore, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur and Udupi-Manipal.
Delhi
The Delhi government has imposed a week-long lockdown till next Monday to curb the Covid-19 surge. The decision was taken at a meeting between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Monday. The lockdown will stay in force till 5 am on April 26. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said e-passes will be issued to people engaged in running shops selling medicines, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish; people working in banks, telecom/ internet services, delivery of essential goods, petrol pumps; those going for Covid-19 vaccination. Marriages scheduled during the course of the week will also be allowed. For marriages and funerals, up to 50 and 20 persons will be allowed respectively.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra declared a statewide curfew from April 14 till May 1 in view of the rising Covid cases and acute shortage of healthcare facilities like ICU beds and medical oxygen. To prevent the gathering, section 144 of CrPC has been put in place throughout the state. All establishments, public places, and services will remain closed unless those in the essential services category. This includes hospitals, diagnostic centres, clinics, vaccinations, medical insurance offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, other medical and health services among others. Groceries, vegetable shops, fruit vendors, dairies, bakeries, confectionaries and all type of food shops can remain open for only 4 hours, i.e., 7-11 am. Public transport such as aeroplanes, trains, taxis, autos and public buses are allowed with 50% of their seating capacity. Transport of goods, export-import of all commodities and E-commerce (only for the supply of essential goods and services) are also operational.
Uttar Pradesh
On Monday, the Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose a one-week lockdown in Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur Nagar and Gorakhpur. However, the state government refused to implement the order, saying that “it will not impose complete lockdown in any city as of now.” Earlier, the UP government had announced a 35-hour curfew across the state — from 8 pm on Saturday till 7 am on Monday. “Essential services, polling officials for the Panchayat polls, health and sanitation workers will be exempted from the curfew,” read an order issued by Chief Secretary RK Tewari. To ensure people wear masks, the government increased the penalty for not wearing a mask in public to Rs 1,000 for the first violation. For the second offence, the fine is Rs 10,000.
Kerala
A day after imposing the night curfew in the state, the Kerala government on Tuesday announced a complete lockdown in all containment zones in the Ernakulam district. The lockdown has been announced by District Collector S Suhas. As per the order, the complete lockdown will be implemented in the district from Wednesday at 6 AM for seven days.
The Kerala government on Monday imposed Covid restrictions, including night curfew from 9 PM to 5 AM from April 20 and said malls and cinemas can function only till 7.30 PM. However, the tuition centres can function only online and should not hold any physical classes.
Punjab
In view of the sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, Punjab on Tuesday decided to impose a night curfew throughout the state from 8 pm to 5 am. Coaching institutes, gyms, bars and cinemas shall remain shut till April 30. Gatherings of over 20, including weddings and funerals are banned. People flying into Punjab will be mandatorily required to produce an RT-PCR negative report mandatorily. Restaurants and eating places in hotels will remain closed on Sundays and allowed takeaways on other days of the week.
Rajasthan
Rajasthan, which already had a weekend curfew in place, has now extended it to two more weeks till May 3 as its daily new cases crossed the 10,000 marks. Calling it ‘Jan Anushashan Pakhwara’ (Public Discipline Fortnight), the government has said essential services such as state and central government offices, health services, mandis, groceries, dairies, ration shops etc. will remain open while all non-essential private offices will be shut, while weddings and last rites will continue to be permitted as per the orders issued on April 14. Importantly, the industries and manufacturing units will continue to function, to prevent the migration of labourers.
Chhattisgarh
The Chhattisgarh government has announced a total lockdown in eight districts amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, according to All India Radio news. From Saturday evening, three districts — Rajnandgaon, Bemetra and Balod – will undergo a complete lockdown. The state has already imposed a lockdown in capital Raipur and neighbouring Durg district. Jashpur, Koriya and Balodabazar will also undergo a complete lockdown from Sunday. The lockdown in Raipur started on April 9 and will last till April 19. During the lockdown period, the border of the district is completely sealed and all shops, including those selling liquor, and commercial establishments are closed except medical stores.
Jammu and Kashmir
A night curfew is in place in urban areas of eight districts that have seen a spike in cases. These districts are Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam, Anantnag and Kupwara.
Odisha
In Odisha, a night curfew has been in place since April 5 in 10 districts. The state government imposed a night curfew in the districts of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nawarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri. The government also extended night curfew to all urban areas of the state from the 10 western Odisha districts implemented on April 5.
Gujarat
The Gujarat government imposed a night curfew from 8 pm to 6 am in 20 cities in the state till April 30. The cities under curfew are Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Gandhinagar, Amreli, Anand, Nadiad, Mehasana, Morbi, Dahod, Patan, Godhra, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Bharuch, and Surendranagar. A negative RT-PCR report is mandatory for those arriving in the state. Government offices will observe a five-day week (so far, they had two off days on the second and fourth weeks of a month) while curtailing the number of guests at weddings to 100. Rupani said the government was expected to come out with a detailed notification in that regard shortly.
Haryana
Haryana has imposed a night curfew in the state from 10 pm to 5 am. All schools and colleges have also been closed till April 30. However, both CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday ruled out the imposition of a coronavirus lockdown in the state. Their assurance came as migrant workers were reported to be leaving amid apprehensions that the state government may impose a lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.
(More states to be added……)
