A Kashmiri woman walks past a temporary barricade set up by authorities inside an area declared red zone by authorities to curb the spread of coronavirus in Srinagar. (Photo | AP)
SRINAGAR: With the drop in Covid cases and deaths, Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday ordered easing of the Covid lockdown restrictions in the Union Territory but the weekend and night curfew would continue.
Chief Secretary, who is Chairperson State Executive Committee, on Sunday ordered the easing of Corona curfew in J&K from May 31. The Corona Curfew was imposed in J&K a month back after a surge in Covid cases.
The curfew, however, will remain in force on weekends. The night curfew will also remain in force from 8 pm till 7 am. As per the revised guidelines, all educational institutions in J&K shall remain closed till June 15. The cinema halls, multiplexes, clubs, gyms, spas, massage centres and paid parks shall also remain closed.
However, standalone shops have been permitted to open on an alternate day basis or rotation system except on Saturdays and Sundays as per the roster to be issued by Deputy Commissioners.
“Outdoor bazaars and outdoor shopping complexes are also permitted to open on an alternate day basis or a rotation system. However, at indoor shopping malls only 25% of total shops can open on any day,” reads the order.
- Saloons/parlours can open three days a week (except on Saturdays and Sundays).
- The public transport can ply only at 50% of the authorized seating capacity. Taxis and cab aggregators can operate at 50% capacity while three-wheelers have been permitted to ply without any restrictions.
- According to the order, religious places and places of worship shall continue to remain open, subject to already issued SOPs.
- The ceiling on the number of people permitted to attend gatherings/functions shall be 20 in case of funerals and 25 for all other kinds of social/ religious gatherings, whether indoors or at outdoors venues.
- Restaurants and hotels will be open only for in-house guests and home delivery.
- The outdoor sports stadia can open while indoor stadia and swimming pools remain closed.
However, in the five districts categorized as ‘Red Zone’, public transport would be shut and malls remain closed. However, three-wheelers can play on alternate days on the odd-even formula.
J&K today recorded 2256 new Covid cases and 29 deaths (20 in Jammu region & 9 in Kashmir) in the last 24 hours. The total Covid cases in J&K now stands at 288940 while there are 37677 active cases. A total of 3870 deaths have been reported so far.
