Rajasthan imposes night curfew in 13 districts till December 31, slashes COVID-19 test prices for private labs

• Kota, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Ajmer, Tonk, Udaipur, Alwar are among the 13 districts in the state where a night curfew has been imposed from 8 pm to 6 am.
• The government said these restrictions would come into effect from December 1 and will remain until the end of December 31.
• All markets, workplaces and commercial complexes will be closed by 7 pm so that the staff and others reach back home by 8 pm, the order said.

The Rajasthan state home department on Sunday imposed a night curfew in 13 districts from 8 pm to 6 am within urban limits, as the COVID-19 situation worsens in the state.

The government said these restrictions would come into effect from December 1 and will remain until the end of December 31. Schools, colleges, entertainment parks and cinemas will remain shut till year-end.

“All markets, workplaces and commercial complexes will be closed by 7 pm so that the staff and others reach back home by 8 pm unless special permission is obtained from the officer authorised by the District Collector in this regard,” the authorities said in its order.

These restrictions will not be applicable for factories, IT companies, chemists and workplaces related to essential emergency services. It will also not impact marriage and other gatherings. Movement of trucks and other goods carrier vehicles will be allowed during the night curfew.

These are the 13 districts where as strict night curfew has been ordered:

• Kota
• Alwar
• Bhilwara
• Bikaner
• Jaipur
• Udaipur
• Nagore
• Jodhpur
• Ajmer
• Tonk
• Pali
• Ganganagar
• Sikar

The order came a day after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at a virtual event said that “people should not be worried by the rise in positive cases as they will do due to the increasing number of tests."

He sought to assure people of an “encouraging" recovery rate in the state, saying Rajasthan has a Covid death rate below one per cent — one of the lowest in the country.

The government on Saturday also capped the rate for Covid-19 RT-PCR tests by private labs in the state to ₹800, slashing it by ₹400. Gehlot said the government ordered the lowering of the Covid test rates from ₹1,200 to ₹800 following a drop in test kits' prices.

Rajasthan reported 18 coronavirus deaths and 2,518 fresh cases on Sunday, taking the total number of fatalities and positive cases to 2,292 and 2.65 lakh. The maximum number of fresh cases were detected in Jaipur where 555 people tested positive, followed by Jodhpur with 395 cases while Kota, Ajmer and Udaipur recorded 211, 164 and 101 cases, respectively.

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