Himachal Pradesh CM relaxes curfew for early morning walkers amid lockdown

The Himachal Pradesh government, on Saturday, announced its decision to relax curfew for morning walkers amid the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown and pandemic. The state government announced that it was relaxing the curfew from Sunday for the time period between 5.30 am to 7 am for those who wanted to go for an early morning walk. This decision was taken by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur during a state review meeting over the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from relaxing curfew for early morning walkers, the state has also decided to ease curfew for four hours between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, as compared to the previous relaxation of three hours. 

Read: COVID-19 Testing Ramped Up In Himachal, To Be Completed Soon Says CM Jai Ram Thakur

So far, 41 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state and the number of active cases in the state is 15. Two more COVID-19 patients recovered in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, taking the total number of those cured in the state to 20, a senior health official said.

Read: Two COVID-19 Patients Recover In Himachal Pradesh, No New Case Reported

'State suffered a loss of 410 crore due to lockdown'

As per an official release by the Himachal Pradesh government, the curfew has "adversely affected the state's economy". Himachal Pradesh which has not reported any new cases for the past few days has been looking into an action plan to revive the economic activities after the lockdown ends on May 3.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had previously revealed that Himachal Pradesh has borne a loss of Rs 410 crore in the last 30 days due to the lockdown clamped to contain the spread of COVID-19. The state earned a mere Rs 40 crore in the last 30 days against the average monthly earnings of Rs 450 crore. So, the state exchequer had to bear a loss of Rs 410 crore, he said. This is mainly because a sizeable portion of the state's economy comes from the tourism industry which has suffered a huge setback owing to the restrictions imposed due to the virus. 

(With Agency Inputs)

Read: COVID-19 Lockdown: No Decision To Ply Buses Tomorrow, Clarifies Himachal Roadways

Read: 4 Temple Trusts Contribute Rs 3.75 Cr To Himachal Pradesh Govt To Fight COVID-19