Gujarat govt goes for partial lockdown in four cities

An alarmed Gujarat government, shocked by rising number of coronavirus cases in the state in the last three days, has decided to go for urgent measures such as lockdown in four of its major cities where COVID-19 cases have been found.

The state government will be going for a partial lockdown in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara for a period of three days.

Gujarat saw its first two coronavirus positive cases on Thursday, five more on Friday and 6 more on Saturday.

The state government has now decided to go for a partial lockdown in certain clusters of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara, from where coronavirus positive cases have been found. These clusters will be identified on the basis of the whereabouts of the infected persons who are now under treatment.

A highly placed official from the health department told the IANS, "We are going for a lockdown in four cities for a period of three days on an experiment basis to curb the possible spread of the virus among people. In these areas, essential commodities will be available."

On the late Saturday evening, the health and family welfare department, Gujarat issued a notification under, 'The Indian Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897' titled 'The Gujarat Epidemic Regulation 2020'.

Under the regulations, the partial lockdown has been imposed allowing only essential services in the Municipal Corporation areas of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara till the March 25.

As per the notification, services such as all government and Municipal Corporation offices will be open. The government has also allowed provisional stores selling commodities like milk, fruits and vegetables, medical stores, hospitals and dispensaries, pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers, research and development centres and other healthcare services.

On Saturday, the police department imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in most of the cities of the state, banning the gathering of four or more people at one place.

The government has also closed down swimming pools, recreational clubs, water parks and marriage halls in the state.

The government had earlier decided to close down all educational institutions in the state. IANS