The Gujarat government on Tuesday decided to increase the night curfew timings in four metros to contain the surge in COVID-19 cases.
The timings of the night curfew have been increased by two hours, starting 17 March. The curfew will remain in force in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot from 10 pm to 6 am, an official statement said. The restrictions will be in place till March 31.
Earlier, the curfew timings were from 12 am to 6 am.
"The state government has decided to impose curfew from 10 pm to 6 am in view of the increasing cases of coronavirus," the government said in the statement.
The decision was taken on Tuesday in the core committee meeting of the coronavirus task-force headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
This is the sixth extension of the night curfew, which first came into force in November last year after a spurt in Covid cases in these cities post-Diwali.
On Monday, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation ordered the closure of shops after 10 pm in eight wards until further orders. "In wake of rising cases of COVID-19, Gujarat's Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation orders closure of shops after 10 pm in eight wards -- Jodhpur, Navrangpura, Bodakdev, Thaltej, Gota, Paldi, Ghatlodia and Maninagar," informed the press release.
Restaurants, malls, showrooms, pan shops, clubs, tea stalls, hair salons will be closed after 10 pm in eight wards of Ahmedabad.
Gujarat on Monday reported 890 new cases of COVID-19, taking its tally to 2,79,097. Last month, the state was reporting around 200 new cases every day.
Surat has been reporting the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, followed by Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot, as per official data.
"Five States of Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu continue to report a surge in the COVID daily new cases. They cumulatively account for 78.41 percent of the new cases reported in the past 24 hours," read the press release by the Union Health Ministry on Monday.
