New Delhi:

To prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Gujarat government on Monday extended till February 28 the night curfew in four major cities of the state- Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot.

The duration of the night curfew has been further curtailed by an hour, from 11pm- 6 am to 12 am-6 am.

“Night curfew will be imposed in four metro cities of Gujarat from midnight to 6 am from 16th to 28th February,” Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary of State Home Department said.

The government had imposed the night curfew in these four cities following a spike in COVID-19 cases after Diwali in November. It had later announced that the night curfew could continue till January 31, but reduced the curfew timing by one hour to 10 pm and 6 am.

This development comes on a day when Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani tested positive for coronavirus, hours after he fainted on stage during an election rally in Vadodra, and was flown to Ahmedabad to be admitted to a hospital.

The vaccination drive in the state began along with the rest of the country on January 16 and, so far, 7.91 lakh persons have been administered the first dose, said MA Pandya, state director, National Health Mission.

The state on Sunday reported 247 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the tally of infections to 2,65,244, the state Health department said.