Covid-19: Gujarat govt puts cap on attendees at weddings, other events

With Gujarat witnessing a sudden spike in new coronavirus cases, the state government on Tuesday announced that a maximum of 150 persons will be allowed to attend social, religious or political events, including wedding functions.

The decision to put a cap on participation at such events was taken by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel after reviewing the current coronavirus situation during a core committee meeting in Gandhinagar, said an official release. So far, 400 persons were allowed to attend social, religious, educational, political or cultural events, including weddings in the state. But now, the limit on participation has been reduced to just 150.

As per the release, the new curb will remain in place across the state till 6 am of January 22. Other restrictions, such as a night curfew in 10 cities, which were announced on January 7, will also remain in force across the state till January 22, it said. On January 7, the Gujarat government had extended the night curfew time in 10 cities by two hours and also announced that there would be no in-person classes at schools for students of Grades 1 to 9 till January 31 as part of efforts to further curb the spread of the infection. From January 7, a night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am came into force in 10 major cities Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Anand and Nadiad. Shops and other commercial establishments in these cities can operate till 10 pm, while home delivery of food is allowed till 11 pm. Across the state, sports complexes and stadiums are permitted to organise sports events without spectators, while cinema halls, gymnasiums, water parks, swimming pools, libraries and auditoriums can operate with 50 per cent capacity.

On Tuesday, Gujarat reported 7,476 new COVID-19 cases, crossing the 7,000-mark for the first time in nearly eight months, raising its overall tally to 8,75,777, while three more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, the health department said. Gujarat had last reported more than 7,000 cases in a day at 7,135 on May 17 last year. On Monday, the state had recorded 6,097 COVID-19 cases and two deaths.