Coronavirus: Gujarat extends night curfew in four cities till February 28

In order to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Gujarat government on Monday announced that the night curfew imposed in four major cities of the state – Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot – will be extended till end of this month (February 28).The duration of the night curfew has been further curtailed by an hour, from 11pm- 6 am to 12 am-6 am. "Night curfew will be imposed in four metro cities of Gujarat from midnight to 6 am from 16th to 28th February," Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of State Home Department said. Gujarat on Sunday registered 247 new coronavirus cases, taking the overall count of the state to 2,65,244, the state health department reported.

This is the fourth extension of the night curfew which the government had imposed in these four cities following a spike in COVID-19 cases after Diwali in November. It had later announced that the night curfew could continue till January 31, but reduced the curfew timing by one hour to 10 pm and 6 am. The development came on the day Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani tested positive for the Covid-19 infection. He was admitted to UN Mehta Hospital in Ahmedabad and is currently in a stable condition. Rupani’s Covid-19 symptoms are mild, the hospital said. The 64-year-old politician had collapsed on stage while speaking at a rally in Vadodara on Sunday, following which he was flown to the Ahmedabad hospital, accompanied by a medical team. His samples were collected on Sunday night and sent for an RT-PCR test which came out positive for coronavirus, said a health bulletin issued by the hospital on Monday.