Chandigarh, May 10 (IANS): Amidst the continuous spike in Covid-19 cases in Chandigarh, the Union Territory administration on Monday decided to extend the week-old curfew by another week.

Non-essential shops will continue to be closed. The daily night curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be implemented. Only daytime movement will be allowed.

However, the residents are advised to avoid non-essential travel. While morning walkers will be allowed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m, in parks, the famed Sukhna Lake will remain closed for the public.

The decisions in this regard were taken at a review meeting chaired by Chandigarh Administrator V.P. Singh Badnore here.

It was decided that the maximum number of guests will be 20 in marriages. For this permission from the Deputy Commissioner is a must. For funeral, the number will be restricted to 10 with no permission.

At present Chandigarh has 8,511 active cases, while nearby Panchkula in Haryana has 2,953 cases and Mohali in Punjab has 10,693 cases.

Badnore thanked the Army's Western Command for setting up a 100-bed Covid hospital in the city for civilians. He advised the army authorities to arrange for oxygen concentrators and ventilators.

He also inaugurated a temporary Covid hospital in Sector 45, where an existing dispensary has been converted into a full-fledged hospital.

He stressed that there should be audit of each fatality so that the line of medical treatment could be improved and lapses, if any, could be rectified.