Chandigarh, December 30: The Punjab government, headed by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday decided to lift the night curfew from January 1, 2021. Currently, night curfew is imposed from 10 pm to 5 am across Punjab. The Punjab government also decided to remove restrictions relating timings of hotels, restaurants, marriage halls and relaxed rules for social gatherings. Punjab Govt to Check 5% of Positive Samples per Week for New Coronavirus Variant.

"Ceiling of 100 people and 250 people in all indoor and outdoor social gatherings in Punjab applicable up to De 31 also stands further relaxed to 200 people and 500 people in all indoor and outdoor gatherings respectively from January 1," a spokesperson of the government said. He added district authorities will ensure strict implementation of all the extant directives issued by both central and state governments. Guru Teg Bahadur Birth Anniversary: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Unveils 2021 Calendar Dedicated to 400th Prakash Purb Celebrations of 9th Sikh Guru.

Penalties would be imposed for violation of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour like wearing of face masks and spitting in public places, etc, the spokesperson said. Union Home Secretary has impressed upon states to meticulously follow the guidelines of MHA for surveillance, containment and caution. The state government advised districts to ensure strict compliance of all the MHA guidelines.

The Punjab government has also decided to send five per cent of the total positive samples per week to premier central units of epidemiology to check the prevalence of the mutated strain of coronavirus. A total of 25.74 lakh tests have been conducted since March. Of them, 78,666 people have been diagnosed positive so far.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2020 08:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).