Liquor shops in Noida can open up to 9 pm outside containment zones

Liquor shops outside containment zones in Noida and Greater Noida can open from 10 am to 9 pm, Excise Department officials said on Monday.

Liquor sales were prohibited during the nationwide lockdown that came into force on March 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had resumed on May 3 with restricted timings of 10 am to 7 pm.

Now with further relaxations in the lockdown from Monday, the sale timings have been revised, a local official said, citing an order issued by the Uttar Pradesh government in Lucknow.

"All liquor shops, including model shops that are outside coronavirus hotspots or containment zones, can now remain open from 10 am to 9 pm, the official added.

Consumption of liquor at public places is a punishable offence, according to the order.

 

There are currently 83 containment zones in Gautam Buddh Nagar -- 52 of them in category I and 31 in category II.

A containment zone in an urban area covers 250 metres in radius which can include a sector or a residential tower, if there is a single positive case of coronavirus (category I) and exceeds to 500 metres along with a 250 metre buffer zone if multiple cases (category II), according to the officials.

However, in rural areas, an entire village will be a containment zone if there is one case, and if there are multiple cases, then the adjoining village will be taken as a buffer zone, they said.

Non-essential movement in or out of a containment zone gets restricted besides increased vigilance and action by the health department for contact tracing and preventing measures against COVID-19, the officials added.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has so far recorded 470 positive cases of coronavirus, including seven deaths, according to official figures.