Jaipur, May 7 (IANS) The Rajasthan government on Thursday announced a complete lockdown from 5 a.m. on May 10 to 5 a.m. on May 24 amid the surge in coronavirus cases.

Under the new guidelines announced on Thursday night, marriages shall remain cancelled till May 31. 'Band, baja, baraat' and DJ services will remain suspended till the said date except for court marriages and weddings at home with 11 guests only.

Marriage gardens and wedding venues shall remain closed and their owners will have to return the funds deposited in advance for the same.

MNREGS projects shall remain suspended. All religious places shall remain closed as well. Travelling within the state will remain suspended in the lockdown period. Those coming from other states need to submit RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours of their travel.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the lockdown while chairing a cabinet meeting via video conferencing and expressing his worry on Covid spreading to rural areas and infecting youths.

On Thursday, a total of 17,532 new cases and 160 deaths were reported across the state.

--IANS arc/vd