Punjab had declared statewide curfew on March 23.
The curfew across Punjab – announced last month amid the coronavirus outbreak -- will be extended by two more weeks, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today. The lockdown will now remain in force till May 17. Depending on the situation after two weeks, a decision will be taken on its extension or removal, the Chief Minister said.
Addressing the people of the state, the Chief Minister said there will be four-hour relaxation of the curfew every day -- from 7 am to 11 am. During this period, shops will and functioning of industry will be allowed, but strict social distancing norms must be followed at all times, the Chief Minister said.
The containment and red zones will, however, continue to remain under total and strict lockdown.
Punjab, which has a large number of expats, was the first to declare a state-wide curfew on March 23 as the coronavirus outbreak gained pace in India. Only essential services were left out of the ambit of the curfew, which was to stay in place till April 5.
On April 6, the curfew was extended again.
Last week, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said that any decision on lifting curfew after May 3 would be taken only on the advice of the 20-member expert committee set up to formulate Punjab's lockdown exit strategy.
"Factories can be restarted but we can't get people back," theb Chief Minister had said, reiterating that "his priority was saving lives of Punjabis".
"If the expert committee, which includes medical experts and doctors, recommends opening up of curfew, either partially or completely, we will do so," he had said at a webinar with leading industrialists, economic experts, diplomats and ambassadors of various countries.