The Uttar Pradesh government announced on Monday that the ongoing ‘partial corona curfew,’ imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) across the state, has been extended by two more days till 7am on Thursday.
“The ongoing partial corona curfew that began at 8pm on Friday, April 30, and was due to be over at 7pm on Tuesday, May 4, has now been extended till 7am on Thursday, May 6,” an order issued by the Uttar Pradesh government said.
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The order further noted that during this period, essential and emergency services will continue to function as usual; these include medical services, medicine shops, vegetable shops and continuous process industries.
According to officials, the direction to extend the curfew by an additional 48 hours was taken at a Covid-19 review meeting chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who recently tested negative for the viral disease after contracting it last month.
Last Thursday, the state government announced the extension of the curfew till 7am on May 4. Originally intended to be a weekend curfew, it was earlier in effect from 8pm on a Friday to 7am on Monday of the new week. The surge of Covid-19 cases in the state, however, necessitated its extension by a further 24 hours, and eventually, by another 48 hours. On April 20, the government also announced a daily night curfew in all districts with more than 500 active cases.
{{/usCountry}}Last Thursday, the state government announced the extension of the curfew till 7am on May 4. Originally intended to be a weekend curfew, it was earlier in effect from 8pm on a Friday to 7am on Monday of the new week. The surge of Covid-19 cases in the state, however, necessitated its extension by a further 24 hours, and eventually, by another 48 hours. On April 20, the government also announced a daily night curfew in all districts with more than 500 active cases.
{{/usCountry}}According to a health department bulletin, Uttar Pradesh recorded 30,983 new Covid-19 cases and 290 related deaths on May 2, taking its infection tally to more than 1.3 million. Thus far, 13,162 people have succumbed to the infection, while more than 296,000 people are still in its grip.
State capital Lucknow saw 3,342 of the fresh infections as well as 25 deaths, while Varanasi, Gautam Budh Nagar, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad and Meerut reported 1610, 1571, 1357, 1089, 1085 and 1033 cases respectively.