Srinagar: After a 64-hour long weekend lockdown, life returned to normal across Kashmir on Monday even as authorities kept close watch on COVID-19 SOPs.
Normal life has come to a stand still due to the weekend lockdown imposed after a surge in COVID cases across J&K.
Business establishments reopened and traffic was plying normally on Monday across J&K.
However, night curfew would continue to remain in force in all districts, officials said.
The barricades to restrict the movement of traffic on roads in J&K have been removed for hassle-free movement.
Amid surge in COVID-19 cases, the government had ordered complete restriction on non-essential movement during weekends in entire J&K.
The decision has been taken at the meeting of the State Executive Committee of the Department of Disaster Management Relief Rehabilitation and Reconstruction chaired by Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta, who is also the chairman of the SEC.
As already directed, public and private institutions have been permitted to seek attendance of limited vaccinated staff for administrative purposes while the maximum number of permissible people for indoor and outdoor gatherings has been fixed at 25.
As the upward trend of COVID-19 infections continued in Jammu and Kashmir, the State Executive Committee (SEC) had on Thursday decided to continue with weekend lockdown starting from Friday 2 pm.
The SEC, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary A K Mehta, directed district magistrates of respective districts of Jammu and Kashmir to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy towards non-compliance of COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) and ensure due action against the defaulters under relevant sections of the law.
“There is a need for additional measures besides continuing with the existing COVID containment measures in all districts in view of the uneven trend observed in daily COVID cases as well as rising positivity rate,” the order reads.
The SEC directed all the offices to regulate the attendance of its employees in such a manner so as to ensure that appropriate social distancing norms are maintained..
To reduce the rate of transmission within Jammu and Kashmir, the order said all efforts would be made by authorities through active involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions, community leaders, market associations and federations.
The SEC retierated that the maximum number of people permitted to attend any indoor or outdoor gathering would be strictly restricted to 25 while banquet halls in all the districts were permitted to allow gathering up to 25 vaccinated persons (with verifiable RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests not older than 72 hours) or 25 percent of the authorised capacity (whichever is less), preferably in open spaces.
Cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes, restaurants, clubs, gymnasiums, and swimming pools are permitted to function at 25 percent of the authorised capacity with due precautions such as CAB and adherence to SOP, the order said.