Curfew in seven Manipur districts extended till May 28

Imphal, May 17 (PTI) The Manipur government on Monday extended the curfew imposed in seven districts of the state till May 28 to check spread of the virus.

The state government had clamped 24-hour curfew in the seven districts of Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Churachandpur, and Ukhrul from May 8 till May 17 to combat the surge in COVID-19 cases.

An order issued by the state Home Department said, "the virulence of COVID-19 virus continues unabated and the need for stringent measures to check physical contact among people still exists." However, the government has allowed additional relaxations including permitting local vegetable vendors from 7 am to 10 am on May 20, May 23, and May 26 with strict observation of SOPs, though vehicular movements during the period will be strictly prohibited, the order said.

Banking and postal services will be allowed to function on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 am to 2.30 pm for urgent transactions.

Healthcare, essential services, and Imphal Airport will continue to operate, the order said.

For the rest of the nine districts, residents have been asked not to travel to the seven districts where curfew has been imposed.

Villages and localities with no COVID-19 cases have been encouraged to display the sign - "My village is corona free"- at the entrance of the localities.

The respective deputy commissioners of the nine districts have been directed to monitor the spread of the infection in the districts.

The state on Monday reported 330 new cases pushing the COVID-19 tally to 40, 059, and 14 fatalities to take the death toll to 592.

So far, 33,129 patients have recuperated from the infection and at present, the number of active coronavirus in Manipur is 6,338. PTI COR MM MM