Curfew fears trigger panic buying in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Nov 20: Markets here witnessed a sudden influx of customers panic-buying essential commodities on Friday after Ahmedabad authorities announced the imposition of a night curfew in view of the prevailing coronavirus situation in the city.

The curfew will be in force between 9 pm and 6 am from November 20 (Friday) and remain in operation till further orders.

The announcement was made by Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty by the Gujarat Government to oversee Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation''s coronavirus-related operations.

Beds for coronavirus patients are fast filling up in private hospitals with just around 400 of them remaining vacant in the city, which has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in the last few days.

Around 2,600 beds are vacant in government-run hospitals in the city.

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani clarified on Friday morning that there is no possibility of a fresh lockdown in the state.

"The weekend curfew announced is limited to Ahmedabad city as a precautionary measure. There are no talks about a fresh lockdown," Rupani said.

"Police personnel have been ordered to strictly implement rules pertaining to wearing masks and maintaining social distance," he added.

Gujarat reported 1,340 new cases on Thursday along with another 1,113 recoveries and seven more Covid-related deaths.