Chandigarh lockdown news: Today's updates

Amid prevalent chaos and uncertainty over access to the essential services and commodities during the lockdown, we bring you the latest updates from your city.
* Update at 10.45pm: Haryana recorded the highest single-day jump in coronavirus cases on Friday with 217 fresh infections, 115 of which were from the state's worst-hit Gurugram district, according to the state health department bulletin.Gurugram, has cumulative 520 cases.
* Update at 9.45pm: With increasing number of industrial units resuming operations in Punjab, the government is planning to write to the Centre to arrange trains for bringing migrants who wish to come back from their home states and start working. Work at industries had come to a standstill after the central government imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
* Update at 8.45pm: No fresh case of coronavirus was reported in Chandigarh on Friday, a medical bulletin said. The number of total Covid-19 cases stood at 289 in union territory.
* Update at 7.45pm: Thirty-nine more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Punjab on Friday, taking the total tally in the state to 2,197, according to a medical bulletin. Three patients were discharged from Kapurthala hospital following recovery, taking the number of cured cases in the state to 1,949. At present there are 206 active cases in the state, it stated.
* Update at 6.45pm: The Punjab government will continue to run special trains for migrants wanting to return home, a senior official said on Friday. A total of 4.84 lakh migrant workers have returned to their native places from Punjab on 375 ‘Shramik Special' trains since May 5, the official said.
* Update at 5.45pm: Punjab Health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Friday said there is a need to reduce domestic flights from Mumbai and Ahmedabad where a large number of coronavirus cases have been found. Presiding over a review meeting of the Health Department, Sidhu said most of the Covid-19 cases reported in Punjab were having the travel history of return from other states or countries.
* Update at 4.45pm: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Friday suggested that the lockdown should continue beyond May 31 and justified the strictness at the Delhi border, saying a free movement will lead to a surge in coronavirus cases in the state.
* Update at 3.45pm: Two brothers have re-opened their roadside barbershop in Panchkula following relaxations in lockdown restrictions. Mohammed Tasin and Mohammed Azam, who hail from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, said they have been running this shop for the past 20 years.
"We don't want to go back to our native places. We have been running this shop since last 20 years. We have bought Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits for our own safety and customers' satisfaction," Tasin said.
* Update at 2.30pm: To ensure transparency in the process of book distribution, Punjab government has made it mandatory to keep an account of the books distributed. The entries will be made by school heads.
* Update at 2pm: Driving tracks in Punjab will be made operational from June 1. An online system has been launched to book driving tests and obtain regular driving licence, Punjab government announced.
* Update at 1.30pm: Desilting in Satluj river around the railway bridge at Gidarpindi continues and more than half of the river bed has already been cleared. Over Rs 1.25 crore has already been spent on diesel as part of this major public-funded desilting operation. Farmers have also borne expenses of hiring earth moving machines, tippers and tractor-trolleys equipped with hydraulic lift.
* Update at 12:25pm: Not more than 150 students in one centre, one assistant superintendent for every 15 students, at least 4-6 feet distance between every examinee, thermal screening, sanitization of exam centres and mask must for all students, teachers and parents.
* Update at 11.30am: Over 48% of Punjab residents stranded in other parts of the country and aboard have so far made their way back.
* Update at 10:43am: I appeal to people suffering from serious ailments, pregnant women & those above 65 years & below 10 years of age to travel only when necessary in Shramik trains, says railway minister Piyush Goyal

* In utter disregard of all Covid-19 SOPs, officials of Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh sent home 15 Mumbai returnees on Wednesday late afternoon without waiting for their report, which confirmed them to be virus-positive late at night.
* Seven new cases of coronavirus were reported in Chandigarh on Thursday, taking the tally to 289. They include six persons from Bapu Dham Colony and a 91-year-old woman from Sector 15 who was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali. This is the second case from Sector 15, while Bapu Dham’s count has touched 216. The active cases are 96.
* Punjab recorded 19 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the overall tally of infected people in the state to 2,158.
* In overall tally, 405 of the total 1,504 Covid-19 cases reported in Haryana till Thursday evening are from Gurugram district. It constitutes 27% of the total cases of the state.
* Himachal Pradesh reported eight more positive cases of Covid-19, including three from Solan district of a woman with travel history to UP and Delhi-returnee mother and son duo. With this, Himachal has reported total 281 positive cases so far, of which 199 are active, four have migrated out of the state, 73 have recovered. So far, five have died due to the pandemic in the state.