All business establishments were closed and public and private transport remained off the roads on Saturday as weekend lockdown began last evening even as the district reported 66 fresh covid-19 cases in a single day.
The weekend lockdown in the district was announced by the administration in view of a spike in covid cases reported from the city and peripherals.
To control the pandemic, District Magistrate, Jammu, Sushma Chauhan has ordered weekend lockdown from 6 pm on all Fridays to 6 am on Mondays.
To ensure compliance, the police had blocked roads with barbed wires and established nakas. Majority of the people willingly remained indoors.
The interior (Old City) and peripheral areas of Jammu have witnessed a spike in covid-19 cases especially in Karan Bagh area of Satwari where 20 close contacts of a woman and a man – both had travel history of Poonch, have tested positive.
Earlier, both the woman and the man had died due to covid19 compelling the authorities to impose restrictions in the infected areas.
Today, Jammu saw the highest spike in cases recording as many as 66 positive cases from various areas including Narayana Mohalla (Kachi Chawni).
“It is the single day highest count of covid positive patients admitted in the Chest Diseases at Bakshi Nagar. Today, 43 covid infected persons were admitted in the hospital and 28 of them are from paramilitary personnel,” said an official.
The official said that the CD Hospital is fully occupied with over 112 positive persons admitted in it, most of them paramilitary personnel.
Meanwhile, Samba administration has imposed lockdown extending up to July 30 till 5 AM in tehsil Samba, and Ghagwal, Bari Brahmana and Vijaypur areas of the district, according to an order issued by the District Magistrate, Samba, Rohit Khajuria.
Three forces personnel including an army soldier tested positive for covid 19 in Samba district today. “All three personnel have travel history,” the official said.
Meanwhile, District Magistrate, Udhampur, Dr Piyush Singla has ordered cut of one day salary of those employees who have “unauthorisedly” remained absent during the weekend lockdown.
“There is no restriction on the movement of employees to attend official duties. It was mentioned that employees will be allowed to move on production on identity card. It is the duty of the concerned district officers to ensure that employees attend their duties without fail,” the DM Udhampur said.