Chandigarh: New ceiling on gatherings; 200 for outdoor events, 100 for indoor ones

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 23

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The Chandigarh District Magistrate issued orders on Wednesday restricting the number of guests at any mass gathering—a development that comes as the union territory’s active cases swell five times to stand past 2,000.

An order from Chandigarh District Magistrate Mandip Singh Brar says that mass gatherings, whether social, political or even weddings, must first have a sanction from Sub-Divisional Magistrates.

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Once allowed, such functions must strictly follow COVID-19 protocols. No indoor function can have more than 50 per cent of the venue’s capacity, with a limit of 100 people. Outdoor functions must similarly have no more than 50 per cent of the venue’s capacity, with a limit of 200 people.

Organisers must ensure guests or participants wear masks, and must make provision for adequate hand sanitizers at the venue. They must given a written undertaking promising to follow COVID-19 protocols strictly.

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Additionally, the district administration will not grant any new permission to hold exhibitions or fairs.

The new order comes a day after the Chandigarh administration ordered educational institutions to be closed until March 31, placed new restrictions on hotels, restaurants and eating places, shut down places such as state museums, libraries and theatres indefinitely, and ordered limits on mass gatherings.

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Chandigarh has been witnessing a second wave of COVID-19 cases. The city recorded 214 new cases on Tuesday and one death. The union territory’s total infection numbers since March last year stands at 24,667 cases, with 2,066 of these still active. Death toll now stands at 364.

Chandigarh’s rise in COVID-19 cases tracks a trend seen in several parts of the country including Punjab, and come at a time of an ongoing vaccination drive to help break the chain of transmission.