Srinagar Aug 8: The Jammu and Kashmir government Sunday temporarily relaxed the prevailing COVID-19 necessitated ceiling of 25 persons for indoor and outdoor gatherings specially for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
However, the relaxation shall be subject to COVID-19 Appropriate Behavior to be ensured by all district magistrates.
An order issued to this effect by Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta in his capacity as the Chairman of the State Executive Committee of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, also said that there was a need to continue with the existing COVID-19 containment measures given the uneven trend in the incidence of daily reported virus cases.
Educational institutions, as already announced, shall continue to remain closed while daily night curfew from 8PM till 7AM also remain in force. However, educational institutions have been permitted to seek attendance of only vaccinated staff specifically for administrative purposes and Independence Day celebrations subject to a gatherings of 25 at max and strict adherence to COVID Appropriate Behavior.
Weekend curfew has already been lifted from entire J&K.
In today’s order, the government also directed for intensifying COVID-19 testing and maximizing vaccination in a bid to break the virus chain as much as possible.