Though the 21-day nationwide lockdown enters its third week, the Coronavirus scourge in India has kept the government on its toes, as it has seen a considerable spike due to the Tablighi Jamaat mess. To contain the spread of the deadly virus in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced to completely seal 15 districts which have emerged as the coronavirus hotspots in the state.
A government source has clarified that all essential services will be home delivered and no one will be allowed to move out. Curfew passes will also be reviewed, Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari has said.
The 15 districts which will be under complete shut down are: Lucknow, Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautambudh Nagar (Noida), Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahar, Firozabad, Maharajganj, Sitapur, Saharanpur and Basti.
#WATCH: 15 districts have high viral load of #COVID19. So affected areas will be sealed. Only home delivery & medical teams will be allowed there. It’s being done to prevent community spread, as numbers are high: RK Tiwari, Chief Secretary pic.twitter.com/BkNrCkvUnd
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 8, 2020
The exact details of how the UP government plans to shut down parts of these 15 districts will be released at a press conference later in the day.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said the Yogi Adityanath led government in Uttar Pradesh will hold a review of the decision next on April 13.
Total Coronavirus cases have been reported from 37 districts of Uttar Pradesh with the number climbing to 326 on Wednesday. Of the total cases, 166 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat. So far, the UP authorities have identified 1,600 people associated with the Jamaat. Of them, 1,200 have been quarantined.
The announcement by the Yogi Adiyanath government comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a key meeting with leaders of the opposition to discuss matters related to India’s war against coronavirus. This meeting came in the backdrop of varying opinions on the crucial question of extending the lockdown beyond April 14.
According to BJD’s Pinaki Misra, PM Modi today told floor leaders of the opposition and other parties in Parliament that the nationwide lockdown will not be lifted in one go on April 14.
While the nationwide lockdown called by PM Narendra Modi in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak on March 24, completes 3 weeks on April 14, many states have requested for an extension. These states have indicated that since a situation is still not back to normal, the lockdown may need to be extended.
India today saw 5,149 cases of novel coronavirus while the death toll rose to 149, indicating 25 new deaths in 12 hours, the biggest jump for the country so far.
