Gujarat starts reopening as Covid second wave begins receding

Gandhinagar June 7 After more than a month of Covid-19 restrictions, Gujarat on Monday began unlocking as the effects of the second wave of Covid-19 seemed to be fading away. Government offices, schools and courts reopened, expecting normalcy to return in the state.

The Gujarat government has decided to allow full functioning of all its offices including the state secretariat in Gandhinagar with one hundred percent capacity as the number of coronavirus infections continued to decrease. The state on Sunday recorded 848 Covid positive cases while 12 citizens succumbed. The total number of active cases has also come down below 20,000. After the second wave hit the state badly, the government had decided to function with only 50% staff capacity.

The schools too reopened on Monday as the new academic year began. But the government has not allowed students in these schools but only the teaching and administrative staff. For a while, education will only be in online mode.

The Gujarat high court has also decided to resume hearings but they will only be in online form and only for urgent and public interest cases. However, the lower courts will be functional from Monday and online hearing in these courts will be permitted where the court premises are situated in containment areas.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) and the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) too resumed services in Ahmedabad on Monday with 50% capacity. These services were discontinued due to the rising corona cases from March 18. However, these services are being resumed only during day time as the night curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. morning is still in force.

The Gujarat government has also decided to reopen the Statue of Unity (SOU) at Kevadiya colony, the world's tallest statue, along with the other attractions like the Jungle Safari Park, children's park. The Kevadiya attractions will be open from Tuesday.

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