DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government is mulling to extend some relaxation in curfew restrictions in five districts from June 8 which have shown improvement in terms of Covid situation.
"Any such decision is likely to be taken on the basis of Covid situation in the districts. We are monitoring the situation closely," Subodh Uniyal, state cabinet minister and spokesperson of the government said.
The districts of Bageshwar, Champawat, Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar recorded a test positivity rate of below 5% in the past week.
Officials told that more shops are likely to be permitted to open in these five districts and curfew timings are likely to be relaxed. The government is also planning to permit the plying of public transport vehicles with a two-third occupancy.
Meanwhile, the business community and stakeholders in the tourism industry have urged the government for some relaxation.
Ved Sah, spokesperson of the Nainital Hotel and Restaurants Association said, "The first wave also struck at the time of peak tourism season. Everyone was hopeful that now the pandemic has settled and there will be some respite but then a second wave hit us. Most of us have depleted our reserves and won't be able to sustain ourselves."
Meanwhile, with 619 fresh patients, active caseload in Uttarakhand reached 17305.