CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government on Tuesday announced a compulsory 21-day quarantine for all those returning from outside the state to check the further spread of COVID-19.
All pilgrims returning from Nanded, and students and labourers coming from Rajasthan will be stopped at the border and sent to Government quarantine centres for 21 days, said Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, adding that Radha Soami Satsang Deras would also be used to quarantine these people, whose return was being facilitated by his government for the past three days.
Amarinder made this announcement even as he indicated that his government could go for certain relaxations, while taking all precautions, based on the report of the expert committee formulating the state’s COVID-19 curfew exit strategy.
He said this during a discussion on the COVID lockdown situation, as well as the ongoing procurement operations in the state, with Congress MLAs through a video conference.
Most MLAs felt the strict measures must continue for another couple of weeks with very limited relaxations in certain areas only, and also said borders must remain sealed not just around the state but between districts and around villages.
Any coronavirus patients should be hospitalised or treated within their own district to limit outside contact and exposure, they suggested, advising extreme caution in lifting restrictions.
On a request from Uttar Pradesh to send back their migrant labourers after quarantining them in Punjab, the Chief Minister said he shall convey to Yogi Adityanath, his counterpart, that this has to be done by the UP government.
He further made it clear that his government would make all efforts to retain migrant labourers. "We need to look after them so that they do not leave Punjab, where they are needed to help out in the procurement operations as well as the industries that we are gradually opening up," Captain Amarinder said.
Pointing out that cases were continuing to rise even 35 days after the lockdown was imposed, he said the Central Government had indicated, based on various inputs and studies, that this trend would continue till July.