UP schools shut till April 30, night curfew in some districts

The directions came on a day the state reported its highest single-day tally, for the fourth day in a row, with 15,276 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s tally to 692,015.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday ordered the closure of all schools till April 30 and clamped a night curfew in districts that report 100 new infections in a day or have 500 active cases.

A student sanitizes her hands at City Montessori school in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. (Deepak Gupta / Hindustan Times)

The directions came on a day the state reported its highest single-day tally, for the fourth day in a row, with 15,276 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s tally to 692,015. The state surpassed its peak reached during the first wave of the pandemic, when it recorded 7,103 fresh cases in a single day on September 11, 2020, on April 8 with 8,490 new cases.

The death toll in the state reached 9,152 with 67 new fatalities on Sunday. There are 71,241 active cases in the state.

Of the 67 deaths, the highest 31 were reported in Lucknow, followed by nine in Prayagraj, eight in Kanpur, and two each in Gorakhpur, Chandauli and Muzaffarnagar.

“Infection is spreading hence it is necessary all should follow Covid protocol even after taking the Covid vaccine,” additional chief secretary (health) Amit Mohan Prasad said during a press conference on Sunday.

According to an official statement, the government also ordered that not more than 100 people be allowed to assemble at an open space for an event while the number has been put at 50 for closed spaces.

On Sunday, Lucknow recorded 4,444 fresh cases, Prayagraj 1,565, Kanpur 881, Ghaziabad 155, Gautam Buddh Nagar 219, Varanasi 1,740, Meerut 255, Gorakhpur 390, Bareilly 221, Moradabad 188, Agra 140, and Mathura 138, according to the state health department data.

Earlier, a night curfew was imposed in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Prayagraj, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar districts and the Lucknow civic body area. On April 2, the UP government extended till April 11 the closure of all schools for students of Classes 1 to 8.

According to the statement issued on Sunday, all government and private schools will remain closed till April 30 while pre-scheduled examinations can be held.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said a night curfew be imposed from 9 pm to 6 am in the districts that report 100 fresh cases in a day or have 500 active Covid-19 cases. Stressing the need to focus on the “test, trace and treat” approach, the government said the daily count of RT-PCR tests should be taken to 100,000.

The UP chief minister said the Covid-19 vaccination drive should be carried out effectively as the state began the four-day “Tika Utsav” on Sunday. The four-day vaccination programme, which began on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotibha Phule, will continue till April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

(With agency inputs)