In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases in the state, the Haryana government on Saturday ordered the closure of cinema halls, multiplexes, theatres, and entertainment parks in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula and Sonepat districts till January 12.
According to an order issued by Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, the restrictions have been imposed in these five districts since they have the highest daily infection rate. The five districts have the caseload accounting for 88% of the total active cases in the state, according to the state health bulletin.
The malls and markets are allowed to open up to 5pm, while bars and restaurants are allowed to operate with 50% capacity.
The restrictions also include closure of sports complexes, stadia, and public swimming pools. All business-to-business exhibitions have also been prohibited, said the order.
Government and private offices except for emergency or essential services have been advised to function with 50% attendance, said the order that comes into effect from Sunday.
For the remaining 17 districts, gatherings of more than 100 persons will be allowed only with the prior permission of the respective deputy commissioners. Cinema halls in malls as well as stand alone, restaurants, bars including in hotels and in malls, gyms, spas and club houses, restaurants, bars of the golf courses have been allowed to open with 50% seating capacity with adherence to Covid-19 protocols and regular sanitization of the premises.
Swimming pools in the 17 districts will be allowed to open after adopting requisite social distancing norms, regular sanitization and Covid appropriate behaviour, the order said.
All swimmers, practitioners and staff should get vaccinated with both doses. Sports Complexes, stadia are also permitted to open for sports activities including for outdoor sports activities except contact sports. Sports authorities shall ensure adherence to requisite social distancing norms, regular sanitization of the premises and Covid-19 appropriate behavioural norms.
Meanwhile, Gurugram on Saturday reported 298 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike in the past seven months, according to the data shared by district health department. With this, the number of active cases now stands at 1,149, of which 1,140 patients are in home isolation while nine are getting treatment at various hospitals, health officials said.
Gurugram on Saturday reported only one case of Omicron variant of Covid-19, taking the tally to 34 in the district. Of 34 Omicron cases, six are active while the remaining patients have recovered, the officials said.
It was May 23 (328 cases) last year when Gurugram had reported more Covid cases than Saturday’s.
Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram, said steps are being taken to identify local spreads and set up micro containment zones. “Currently, we are testing around 6,000 samples daily. But the testing will be ramped up further to identify the cases and take steps to curb the spread of infection,” said Yadav.
On Saturday, the directions issued by the state government to allow entry to only fully vaccinated persons at public places also kicked in and several malls were seen enforcing the ban.
A spokesperson of the district administration said they have issued directions to all the public and private establishments to strictly follow the vaccination rule for entry. Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said, “All steps are being taken to boost health care facilities such as beds, oxygen supplies and related infrastructure to manage the rising Covid-19 cases,” he said.
On Saturday, the health department collected 5,962 samples for testing, which took the total testing numbers to 2,304,149. The health department also said that 10,265 persons were vaccinated at 88 vaccination sites.
