The Uttar Pradesh government has said shops and business establishments will remain closed only on Sundays from August 14 as cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state have been on the decline. Additional chief secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi said in an order that the Covid-19 curfew will now be in place only on Sundays from August 14 and that activities will be allowed between 6am to 10pm.
The Uttar Pradesh government issued guidelines in July ordering markets, shops and business establishments to function from 6am to 10pm from Monday to Friday and to shut on Saturdays and Sundays as cases of Covid-19 were on the rise.
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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to consider a partial relaxation in the two-day weekly closure of shops and business establishments. Adityanath asked the home department to present detailed guidelines in this regard. The chief minister also stressed that Covid protocol should be followed everywhere and there should not be any unnecessary congregation of people anywhere, an official said according to PTI.
Adityanath asked the officials to present appropriate guidelines regarding the new system as he stressed the importance of a continued police patrolling.
{{/usCountry}}Adityanath asked the officials to present appropriate guidelines regarding the new system as he stressed the importance of a continued police patrolling.
{{/usCountry}}A health bulletin on Wednesday showed that 27 new Covid-19 cases and one fatality were reported in Uttar Pradesh and its tally rose to 17,088,36 and the death toll climbed to 22,776. As many as 16,85,555 people have recovered from Covid-10 in the state, the bulletin said. The number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 555, it added.
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On Tuesday, no Covid-19 case was reported in 59 of the state's 75 districts and the number of fresh infections was less than 10 in the remaining 16 districts. Data shows there is not a single Copvid-19 patient in the Aligarh, Amethi, Chitrakoot, Etah, Firozabad, Gonda, Hathras, Kasganj, Pilibhit, Pratapgarh, Shamli and Sonbhadra districts of the state.
The chief minister said vaccination camps must be organised in universities, schools and colleges for students above 18 years of age as classes will begin in secondary, higher, technical and vocational educational institutions after Independence Day.
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Adityanath said classes should be started with a 50 per cent capacity in secondary, higher, technical and vocational educational institutions after August 15 based on the recommendations of a state-level advisory committee of health experts. Classes should be run in two shifts and full care should be taken to ensure adherence to the Covid protocols, he said.
The process of new admissions should be started for classes 6 to 8 chief minister also said in the schools under the Basic Education Council, Adityanath said. These schools can reopen from September 1 after assessing the pandemic situation, he added.
(With agency inputs)