The Gurugram administration on Thursday announced additional restrictions and banned all vehicular movement near its border with Delhi except for a few essential services, to contain the coronavirus outbreak, NDTV reported. The order, which came into effect on Friday, said movement for any additional purposes will require permission from the district magistrate.
This came after the district reported a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the last five days, with 46 cases in Sonipat, Jhajhar and Faridabad traced back to Delhi.
Haryana Police chief Manoj Yadav confirmed that only vehicles needed for essential services will be allowed entry to Haryana. The movement of media personnel and doctors into the state was permitted earlier, however, the instructions have now been modified, he told NDTV.
The list of services that have been exempted from the order includes movement of government officials with specially issued passes by the Centre or Haryana government. Services such as ambulances, ATM cash vans, liquified petroleum gas or oil containers, will also be allowed. Vehicles supplying essential items such as personal protection equipment, sanitisers and groceries will also be allowed passage into the district.
Vehicles carrying essential or non-essential services that are in transit to the national or state highways, will be allowed. However, “such vehicles shall not be allowed to halt in the territory of Gurugram district,” the order stated.
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Meanwhile, residents of Gurugram who are working in Delhi will have to ask their employers to provide them with temporary accommodation to avoid cross-border travel. “Accommodation arrangements for persons working in Gurugram but not residents of Gurugram shall have to be made by the concerned management at Gurugram so as to preclude any daily cross-border transit,” the order added.
In cases where movement between borders is inevitable, those travelling are required to download the Aarogya Setu application on their mobile phones, the order stated. They will also have to undergo thermal and symptomatic screening at the border. Those who exhibit Covid-19 symptoms may have to undergo rapid testing, it added.
Haryana has reported 313 coronavirus cases, with three deaths as of Friday, according the the figures released by the health ministry.
The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 35,043 on Friday morning and the toll stood at 1,147. The Centre said the country is currently recording a total recovery rate of 25.19%, up from 13% about two weeks ago.
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