Himachal extends curfew till June 30

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 25

With Himachal Pradesh witnessing a sharp spike in Covid cases to 225 over the past few days, the state government has decided to extend the curfew by a month till June 30.

The caseload increased mainly on account of state residents who returned from other states, particularly Maharashtra, and tested positive for the virus here.

Though the curfew would be extended, public and private transport, including taxis and autos, are to resume operations from June 1. Officials said all Deputy Commissioners had already issued orders for the extension of the curfew for another month.

The highest 63 Covid cases are in Hamirpur district, followed by 57 in Kangra, 30 in Una and 18 in Chamba. The state has so far seen five deaths.

With a large number of people returning to the state from Maharashtra, Chennai, Gujarat and West Bengal, the number of Covid cases have spiked from about 30 a few days ago to 225 today. A further spike is expected towards the end of this month as two trains carrying almost 1,500 persons from Maharashtra and Gujarat reached the state yesterday.

The possibility of the curfew being extended by another month was high as the Cabinet, at its meeting on May 23, had authorised all district magistrates, under the provision of Sub-Section (4) of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, to extend the order issued by them under Section 144(1) of the Code up to June 30.