Amarinder Singh asked why it was so difficult for people to wear masks, wash their hands or not spit on the roads.
Chandigarh:
Noting the “highly irresponsible” behavior of some people not following COVID-19 rules, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday that state security was in the hands of his people.
He warned of the dangerous consequences for the state, which has witnessed a spike in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, if people fail to meet safety standards.
Noting that 4,900 challans were issued to people for various violations on Friday, Mr Singh asked why it was so difficult for people to wear masks, wash their hands or not spit on the roads.
“You don’t care about your Punjabis companions?” he asked during his weekly Facebook Live interaction “Ask Captain”.
Citing the example of Maharashtra and Delhi, which have a high number of COVID-19 cases, he said the security of Punjab was in the hands of its people.
During the interaction, Mr. Singh told a youngster that although his government allowed gymnasiums to reopen from August 5, in accordance with the Centre’s Unlock3 guidelines, people should strictly follow all protocols and guidelines. which will be published shortly by the Department of Health.
Stressing the need for precautions and early detection to save lives, Singh again called on recovered COVID-19 patients to donate plasma.
While a plasma bank is already operational and two more will emerge in the State.
“If I were a cured patient, I would certainly have donated plasma,” the chief minister said, adding that he had already given the order to make the plasma available free of charge in all public and private hospitals. .
When asked by a Shutrana resident about ending COVID-19 so people do not have to wear masks at all times, Mr Singh said he had the same question and had had enough of the situation.
But until that is over, there is no choice but to wear a mask, he said. “We will go through this difficult time together, we will win,” he added.
Punjab reported its strongest single-day peak of 944 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing its total to 17,063. The contagious disease has so far claimed 405 lives in the state, official data shows.
After a resident of Rajpura expressed concern that some Punjabi singers are promoting gun culture through their work, Singh called on all artists to stop singing such songs and instead promote the culture and ideology from Punjab.
Stopping these singers is not really a solution. These people need to understand the negative impact of such songs on young people, he said.
Asked whether the Punjab would follow Delhi’s decision to reduce the value-added tax on diesel, Singh said the state’s VAT was already lower than Delhi’s and was not not possible to reduce it further due to financial constraints.
The state government needs to increase its revenue and find ways to do so, but that doesn’t mean it will increase VAT further, he said.
