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Parts of 15 UP districts hit by Covid-19 to be shut till April 15
Gautam Budh 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, a top official said on Wednesday, prohibiting people in these areas from stepping out of their houses to buy even grocery and other essential items.
Gautam Buddh Nagar, which houses Noida, and Ghaziabad are among the districts where the new restrictions will come into effect at midnight and are expected to continue till April 15, when a review of the measure is expected to take place.
All houses in the identified hot spots 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.
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India is already under a three-week lockdown, which began on March 25 to contain the fast-spreading Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes the deadly infection. Commercial rail and air travel as well as interstate travel is completely banned across the country. Only people involved in the delivery of commercial services are allowed on the road.
The fresh directive by the Uttar Pradesh government means further tightening of the curbs in certain pockets in 15 districts, namely Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Kanpur Nagar, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Basti, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Maharajganj and Sitapur.
A list of the hot spots was not available immediately. An announcement is expected in the afternoon.
“We are identifying the hot spots in these districts in consultation with the director general of police (DGP),” said Avnish Awasthi, additional chief secretary, home.
In his order, chief secretary Tiwari said the no movement allowed in the hot spots, barring health care staff and those deployed for essential services.
“It has been found in a high-level review that the load of Covid-19 is very high in your district. So, lockdown is being strengthened in these districts, and affected areas (hot spots) 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,” the order said.
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.
