Gujarat lifts night curfew in 10 cities from 10 July, allows coaching classes with 50% attendance

Ahmedabad: With a sharp drop in daily coronavirus cases in Gujarat, the state government on Thursday decided to lift the night curfew in 10 out of 18 urban areas. Further, even in the eight cities where night curfew will continue, coaching centres for the students of Class 9 onwards can resume classes. Curfew between 10 pm to 6 am is in force in 18 cities and towns at present. From 10 to 20 July, the night curfew will be in force in only eight major cities — Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Gandhinagar. The decision to lift curfew in 10 other cities was taken by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani after reviewing the coronavirus situation, said an official release. Thus, there will be no curfew at night in Bhuj, Morbi, Patan, Mehsana, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, Ankleshwar, Vapi and Gandhidham. All commercial establishments, including shops and beauty parlors, can remain open till 9.00 pm in the eight cities where night curfew will continue. Restaurants too can remain open till 9.00 pm and home delivery is allowed till midnight in these areas, said the release. Instead of the previous limit of 100, 150 persons can attend weddings, and public gardens in these eight cities can remain open till 9.00 pm. Coaching classes for students of Class 9 to post-graduate courses as well as those for competitive exams can be held with 50 percent attendance, said the release. Public transport buses can operate with 75 percent occupancy instead of present 60 per cent in these eight cities, said the release, adding that educational institutes, spas, swimming pools and water parks will, however, remain closed. Gujarat on Thursday recorded 62 new COVID-19 cases, 534 recoveries and no fresh deaths.