Himachal extends curfew till May 31; Haryana allows shops to open on alternate days

Despite a substantial drop in COVID-19 cases and a spike in death rate, the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday further extended curfew curbs in the state by a week till May 31.

The decision was taken by the state Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today. The decision came on the recommendations of the health department officials.

The state registered 1,309 new cases and 59 deaths of COVID on Sunday.

Traders in the state have been demanding that they should be allowed to open their shops on alternate days.

Some states like Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Puducherry too have decided to continue with their lockdown restrictions till May-end.

Meanwhile, Haryana government has allowed shopkeepers in the state to follow odd-even rule for opening their business establishments from Monday.

State Home Minister Anil Vij, who also holds the Health portfolio, said that the shopkeepers have been given permission to open shops as per

odd-even rule from today, under which they will now be able to open their shops between 7 am to 12 noon.

Relaxation cannot be granted to the people till the COVID positivity rate falls below 5%, which is currently around 9%, he said.

Vij said, “There is a complete lockdown in Uttar Pradesh and other nearby states including Delhi, but the Haryana Government has given some relaxation on the appeal of the people.”

Vij expressed his deep concern over the surging cases of black fungus in Haryana and said that the shortage of injections used to treat it is being overcome. “We had received 550 vials 2 days back and previously we had arranged 600 vials. Hopefully soon enough injections will be available,” he said.