India / Night curfew in Rajasthan withdrawn, more relaxations to come: CM Gehlot

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday announced several relaxations and decided to lift the night curfew imposed in the state as a preventive measure to control the COVID-19 outbreak. The decision was taken in view of a steady decline of coronavirus cases over the past few days.

In the COVID-19 review meeting, it has been decided to end the night curfew in the state and to give some relaxations in a phased manner. But it will be necessary to follow health protocols, otherwise, the number of infected patients may increase, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted.

The state government had, on November 21, decided to impose a night curfew from 8 PM to 6 AM in eight districts including Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ajmer, Alwar and Bhilwara district headquarters following a spurt in coronavirus cases. The curfew was later extended to five more districts headquarters of Nagaur, Pali, Tonk, Sikar and Ganganagar.

In November, the daily number of cases had crossed the 3,000-mark in Rajasthan. However, the latest figures show that only 261 persons tested positive on Sunday and the number of active cases was 5,050.

Notably, schools in Rajasthan also reopened today after a 10-month shutdown due to the pandemic. Schools reopened with each room having 50 per cent seating capacity and students attending classes with the consent of their parents. However, only a handful of students returned to classes on the first day.