The Haryana government has imposed a weekend lockdown in nine districts to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the state, an official order stated. The curfew will be in force in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Panchkula, Sonipat, Rohtak, Karnal, Hisar, Sirsa and Fatehabad districts from 10 pm on Friday till 5 am on Monday, it said.
These districts are the highest contributors to the state's COVID-19 caseload.
"Residents must stay indoors during the lockdown period. No person shall leave their home or move on foot, in a vehicle, or stand, or roam around in any public place during the lockdown period," the order stated.
The people tasked with law and order, emergencies and municipal service duties and government machinery tasked with COVID-19 related duties have been exempted from the curfew. There also won't be any curbs on those engaged in manufacturing of essential goods and movement of both essential and non-essential goods and people appearing for exams, according to the order.
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said his government will "leave no stone unturned" to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state. He has also asked the authorities to take strict action against anyone found indulging in black marketing and hoarding of medical oxygen cylinders and other medical devices or antiviral injections used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Earlier on Monday, all large gatherings were banned in five Haryana districts, including Gurugram and Faridabad.
Haryana had on Thursday recorded 97 COVID-19 fatalities - its biggest single-day spike - that took the overall death count to 4,118, while 13,947 fresh cases pushed the total tally to 4,74,145. Gurgaon district, which has been the hardest-hit, saw a huge surge in cases with 5,042 infections, its highest single-day tally, while 1,563 infections were reported from Faridabad.
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