105 Covid-19 hotspots in 15 Uttar Pradesh districts to be completely sealed

Gautam Buddh Nagar, which houses Noida, and Ghaziabad are among the 15 districts, officials said after a review meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Other districts include Lucknow, Meerut, Agra and Varanasi.

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to strengthen restrictions on movement in hot spots of the Covid-19 disease in 15 districts, government officials said on Wednesday, prohibiting people in these places from stepping out of their houses to buy even grocery and other essential items.

15 districts will be completely sealed from April 8 to April 15 due to high viral load being reported from these states. (HT photo)

Gautam Buddh Nagar, which houses Noida, and Ghaziabad are among the districts where the new restrictions will come into effect at midnight and will continue till the morning of April 15, when a review of the measure is expected to take place.

All houses in the 105 hotspots should be checked and sanitised; arrangements should be made for carpooling to ferry the workforce linked to the supply of essential commodities; home delivery of essential items should be ensured; and all shops including those selling vegetables should be closed to ensure social distancing, chief secretary RK Tiwari said in an order.

The news triggered panic buying, with initial reports in some sections of the media erroneously suggesting that these districts will be sealed off entirely.

The fresh directive by the Uttar Pradesh government means further tightening of curbs the 105 hotspots (or areas that are reporting a bunch of cases) in 15 districts, namely Agra (22), Ghaziabad (13), Gautam Buddh Nagar (12), Kanpur (12), Lucknow (12), Varanasi (4), Shamli (4), Meerut (7), Bareilly (1), Bulandshahar (3), Basti (3), Firozabad (3), Saharanpur (4), Maharajganj (4) and Sitapur (1).

Chief secretary Tiwari said no movement will be allowed in the hotspots, barring that by health care staff and those deployed for essential services. “...lockdown is being strengthened in these districts, and affected areas (hotspots) should be completely sealed. All the passes issued should reviewed and unnecessary passes must be cancelled. In affected areas, 100% home delivery of essential items must be ensured and shops and vegetable market etc. should not be opened to ensure that social distancing and lockdown is enforced,” he said.

In the sealed areas, drones will monitor activities even as health department staff will carry out door-to-door surveys to identify infected people and quarantine them, according to government officials. People can contact control rooms and help lines set up by the districts for emergency services. The administration and police will make necessary public announcements through loudspeakers time to time.

The central government is considering extending the nationwide lockdown, which is set to end on April 14, after suggestions by several states, including Uttar Pradesh. The state has reported 361 Covid-19 cases in 37 districts, and three deaths.