The Manipur government has tightened restrictions after at least five persons contracted COVID-19 . A notification in this regard was issued by Chief Secretary J. Suresh Babu late on Monday.
Earlier, a Manipuri woman who had gone to Mumbai along with her ailing husband, a cancer patient, had died. A trader from Bengaluru who dealt in foreign goods and used to stay at Manipur’s border town Moreh for a few days died shortly after returning home. Two persons had recovered from the disease.
Since there was no report of new cases in Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren had announced that the State was COVID-19 free and listed it in the green zone.
The latest notification says that government offices would function with skeleton staffs. Shops dealing in spare motor parts can function from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Shops selling meat, fish, other consumer items, construction materials and mobile handsets can stay open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no restriction on pharmacies, shops selling medical items
Air services, including air ambulances, except those cleared by the Home Ministry are banned. All educational institutes would remain closed. Weddings, religious functions and other social events cannot have huge gatherings. Permissions for organising such events should be obtained from the district magistrates.
The notification says that only vehicles having official pass can ply during the lockdown which shall remain in force till May 31.
Officials said on Tuesday that there was no fresh report of people testing COVID-19 positive. All samples tested at the two medical colleges in Manipur, the RIMS and the JNIMS, have turned out to be negative.
