By Online Desk
With the Centre giving various states the freedom to take a call on the manner in which night curfew is introduced in the wake of Omicron variant threat, Kerala Chief Minister has on Monday announced night curfew from December 30 to January 2.
In view of the upcoming New Year and other festivals, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has imposed curbs from 10 pm to 5 am. As the state recorded 57 Oimcron cases today, he has asked everyone to stay indoors by the latest 10 pm and avoid all sorts of unwanted travel. All shops and establishments including clubs, bars, hotels and restaurants have to down their shutters latest by 10 pm on all the four days.
The curbs would be applicable to beaches also, Vijayan said in a statement, following a high-level meeting where the decisions were taken.
Similarly, Haryana has also imposed a night curfew from Saturday. Uttarakhand also curbs from Monday night in view of the threat posed by the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
However, the Odisha government on Monday said there is no need to impose restrictions such as night curfew and lockdown across the state. But, the night curfew is in force in all urban areas of the state from 10 pm to 5 am.
Delhi on Monday recorded 331 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise since June 9, and one died while the positivity rate mounted to 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi rose to 25,106. On Sunday, Delhi recorded 290 cases with a positivity rate of 0.55 per cent and one fatality, according to officials figures.
On Monday, it jumped to 331 cases with a positivity rate of 0.68 per cent, according to the latest health bulletin. This rise is the highest since June 9 when 337 cases were logged with a positivity rate of 0.46 per cent, while 36 deaths were also recorded on that day. It is also to be noted that, the national capital is also under night curfew from Monday.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has asked the Centre to speed up the Covid-19 vaccination in poll-bound states to ensure that all the voters are fully vaccinated.
Earlier in the day, the Centre issued a fresh advisory to all States and UTs to deal with the pandemic situation.
In the advisory, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing need-based, local curbs and restrictions, to control the crowd during the festive season.
(With inputs from agencies)
