Hours after lockdown by Punjab, Chandigarh imposes restrictions till March 31

Hours after Punjab government announced a complete lockdown across the state, the Chandigarh Administration also imposed certain restrictions to prevent spread of the COVID-19 on Sunday.

A spokesperson of the Chandigarh Administration informed that all non-essential establishments including offices, schools, colleges, factories and other business establishments etc shall remain closed till March 31, 2020.

All public transport shall also remain suspended;however, essential services such as vegetable shops, ration shops, chemists etc shall remain open.

The general public has been advised not to believe in rumours and take all preventive steps as communicated by the government from time to time. People have also been advised to stay indoors and not to come out unless there is an urgency.

The City Beautiful – Chandigarh – has reported six confirmed cases and a number of suspected cases of the dreaded coronavirus so far and the number is likely to swell in the coming days.

The city had reported the first case of COVID-19with a 23-year-old woman testing positive for the disease on Wednesday night.

A resident of Sector 21 of the city, the woman had recently returned from England and was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, after she complained of cold and fever. She had landed at International Airport, Amritsar on March 15.

Her samples were sent to the Department of Virology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, which tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. The woman and her mother have been kept in the isolation ward of the GMCH while other family members are quarantined at home, an official spokesperson of the hospital informed.

With the reporting of the first ever case of COVID-19 in the city, the Chandigarh administration has partially closed Sukhna Lake, one of the most beautiful and popular tourist destinations of the city for visitors besides imposing a ban on boating in it.

Taking preventive measures, the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) has also closed other tourist destinations including Rock Garden, Rose Garden, Museum and Art Gallery, the War Memorial, Bougainvillea Garden, Amusement Park adjacent to the Lake and the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.