With Covid cases showing a marked decline in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered resumption of normal OPD service and elective surgeries, with extensive precautions in place, but warned against any complacency given the projections of a possible second wave of the pandemic.
The Chief Minister has also allowed opening of government schools from Monday, 19th of October, after due sanitation and disinfection procedures, and with clear SOPs mandating parents’ consent, as well as ceiling on number of students and hours of operation. Some of the private schools in the state have opened today.
Expressing concern over the warnings by health and medical experts of the grave possibility of the second wave hitting the state in the festival season or during the winter months, the Chief Minister directed the concerned departments to take all steps to ensure that things remain under control in the festive times ahead. He asked the Health & Medical Education departments to work with the market committees to ensure widespread distribution of masks with steps to encourage people to wear them, and also follow social distancing norms.
