Surat diamond polishing units shut till July 13; trading mkts till July 9

Diamond polishing units in Surat in Gujarat will remain shut till July 13 while diamond trading markets will be non-operational till July 9 in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

An order to this effect was issued on Monday by Surat Municipal Corporation Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani.

Pani said permission for resumption of operations would be given to these units if they follow the civic body's Covid-19 guidelines and standard operating procedures.

In another notification, Pani said a textile making unit or textile market will be shut for seven days if one or more cases emerge from them.

Till now, over 570 diamond workers and their kin have been detected with the infection in Surat, which has an overall case count of 5,500, the second highest in the state after Ahmedabad.

Diamond polishing units were first directed to remain shut till July 6 through a Surat Municipal Corporation order issued on June 30.

With the city's Covid-19 situation getting stark over the past few days, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had visited on July 4 to review combat efforts.