No decision yet on extending curfew beyond Apr 14: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said any decision on extending the curfew imposed in the state beyond April 14 would depend on the prevailing situation.

Singh was reacting to reports in a section of the media which quoted him as saying that the government would not lift the curfew on April 14.

"If the situation takes a turn for the worse, there will be no option with the government but to continue with controls," the chief minister said here.

Restrictions will have to continue as long as they are needed to save lives, he clarified.

Any decision on lifting or extending the curfew/lockdown in the state will be taken in the light of the situation that exists at the time, Singh said in a statement.

It would depend entirely on how things are then, he said, adding that it was not possible to commit to either way at this juncture when the situation was dynamically evolving.

"If things improve then there would be no need for such tight restrictions," Singh said.

The chief minister assured the people that his government would continue to take steps to minimise the hardships suffered by the people as a result of the curfew.

Already, a lot of essential services, which were initially locked down, have been restored, he pointed out, citing examples of banks, postal and courier services, harvesting etc.

The requirement of curfew passes for doctors, health staff and regular patients have also been done away with, Singh added.

More steps will be taken in the future to further ease the lives of the people, irrespective of whether or not the curfew continues, he said.

Punjab was the first state in the country to impose a curfew to check the coronavirus outbreak.

The chief minister, however, made it clear that the state government would not allow itself to become complacent, saying he had already directed the Health department to prepare on war footing for any eventuality, including community spread of the disease.