Punjab, the Union Territory Chandigarh and seven districts of Haryana were put under a lockdown on Monday, a day after the authorities decided to enforce it as an emergency measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Haryana government notified lockdown in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat, Jhajjar, Rohtak and Panchkula till March 31.
All essential and emergency services were exempted from the shutdown which would remain in force till March 31, officials said.
During the lockdown, all commercial establishments, shops, factories shall remain closed except those dealing in essential commodities such as food, grocery, medicines, etc.
Other essential services such as water supply, sanitation, electricity, banks, ATMs shall be maintained, officials said.
There will be no public transport services, including operation of taxis and auto-rickshaws, except transport of all kinds to and from hospitals, airports, railway stations, bus terminals in Punjab and Haryana.
In Punjab, the department of transport may operate a few services of state transport undertaking to ensure essential services, it added.
All inter-state bus services would remain shut in Punjab and Haryana. All public transport service would also remain suspended in UT Chandigarh.
Punjab and Haryana have so far reported 21 and 12 positive cases of coronavirus respectively while in Chandigarh, the number of positive cases was six.
There will be restrictions on public gathering at one place under Section 144 of CrPC, officials said, adding any person found violating the restrictions shall face action.
In Punjab, extra police force would be deployed in all the districts to ensure implementation of restrictions.
E-commerce (delivery) of all essential goods including food, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, take away/home delivery restaurants/eateries have been exempted from the restrictions, officials said.
