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Review on lifting lockdown only after consultation with Centre: UP CM
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that any decision on lifting of the lockdown after April 14 will be taken after consultation with
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that any decision on lifting of the lockdown after April 14 will be taken after consultation with the Centre. He, however, said that a review on lockdown is expected after April 12.
CM Adityanath was speaking during a video conference with mediapersons of all 75 districts in the state. He raised concerns about the rising number of Covid-19 positive cases which have surged in Uttar Pradesh in the past four-five days, ever since a few people returned after attending a religious congregation in Delhi.
“The lifting of the lockdown will depend on the number of Covid-19 positive cases and the Centre will be consulted. As of now, we have about 314 positive cases and 168 of these are linked to members of the Tablighi Jamaat. We have increased surveillance and even reached interior areas in different cities to trace people who are in hiding,” the chief minister said.
On Monday, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had said that he would appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown.
“We are also trying to trace the contacts of Covid-19 positive people linked to the Tablighi Jamaat. Had these cases not taken place, we would have been in control of the situation,” Adityanath added.
He said that to check the spread of Covid-19, clusters have been identified and surveillance systems have already been activated. As per the number of Covid-19 cases, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and Meerut, among other districts, have emerged as hotspots with high numbers of Covid-19 positive cases.
“Through the CM’s helpline (1076), we have reached the Gram Panchayats and are seeking information about people who have returned. Many of them have been quarantined for 14 days and they will further be kept in home-isolation. People from the Tablighi Jamaat are still in hiding and they should come forward. We are working on identifying them,” he added.
Adityanath, on March 30, had visited the Gautam Budh Nagar district to review the health and medical facilities in the district and rapped officials on their knuckles. Following this, former district magistrate BN Singh was transferred out and new district magistrate Suhas LY was brought in.
The CM also visited Ghaziabad the next day but cut his visit short and flew back to Lucknow to take stock of the situation when reports of thousands of people who attended a religious congregation at Delhi’s Nizamuddin came to light.
On Monday, Awanish Awasthi, UP’s additional chief secretary (home), said that the lifting of the lockdown after April 14 would not be possible until there was a single Covid-19 case pending in the state.
“So it cannot be said that lockdown will be lifted after April 14. Our health teams, police and officers are putting in a lot of effort and they will have to work for a longer period. People’s participation is also required now,” he had said.
Initially, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister had announced a lockdown of 16 districts in the state on April 22. The 16 districts included Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. Thereafter, in his address to the nation, Prime Minister Modi, on the night of March 24, had announced a countrywide lockdown for 21 days, which is scheduled to end on April 14.
CM Adityanath also said that he has appealed to the management of schools not to ask for fees during the lockdown period.
“We have also appealed to them to give salary to their staff and teachers. We cannot force them but we are taking steps to defer the payment of fees for a couple of months,” he said in response to a query raised over the issue.
He also added that the state health department will also get about 10,000 portable ventilators in another 10 days’ time from a Noida-based company and each set will cost only about ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2 lakh.
