Punjab extends Covid curbs till July 10 but bars pubs ahatas can open at 50 per cent capacity
Skill Development Centres and Universities have also been allowed to open conditional to the staff and students having taken at least one dose of vaccine. IELTS coaching institutes were already allowed to be opened, subject to students and staff having taken at least one dose of vaccine.Announcing the relaxations at a high-level Covid review meeting, the Chief Minister made it clear that the bars, pubs and ahatas would have to strictly maintain social distancing protocols, and waiters servers/other employees should have taken at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. He made it clear that it would be the responsibility of the owners to ensure that the conditions are met.The month wise whole genome sequencing has shown that more than 90 per cent is a variant of concern, with the original virus having been practically replaced by variants, disclosed the Chief Minister. Two cases Ludhiana and Patiala have shown Delta plus variant, while in May and June, the Delta variant was most prevalent, he pointed out.Captain Amarinder ordered fast tracking of the establishment of a Whole Genome Sequencing Lab at GMCH, Patiala, in association with the international non-profit organisation PATH to make it operational by July. He also ordered intensification of genome sequences of cases reported from clusters in limited geographical, institutional or superspreader event area to check the spread of the potential third wave.Health department should continue to prioritise the Lok Sanjhedari model so that there is community ownership and a sustained campaign to observe Covid appropriate behaviour, said the Chief Minister. Health Secretary Hussan Lal, in a brief presentation earlier, said the department had formulated a comprehensive surveillance strategy to keep a check on the potential third wave drivers. These drivers include behavioural change after the 2nd wave, seasonal changes re infection due to waning of immunity and viral mutations.Dr Talwar told the meeting that it was very difficult to predict the third wave due to mutation, with the Delta Plus variant already reported from 12 countries and 52 cases in Maharashtra. Urging extreme caution, he said it was necessary to see how the mutant behaves. As of now, the existing vaccines were showing effectiveness against the present variants he said.