Lockdown in UP, parts of West Bengal, Bihar begins today amid rise in Covid-19 cases
Several states across India have imposed lockdown measures even as coronavirus cases in the country near 8-lakh mark and the death toll due to the disease stood at 21,064.
The state government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to impose a lockdown in the state in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. The lockdown will come into effect from 10 pm on Friday and remain till 5 am on Monday.
The Yogi Adityanath government , however, insisted that it is not a lockdown. It said the authorities have imposed curbs on certain activities to check the spread of the infection.
Apart from essential and some other services, everything else will be shut in the state.
According to the official statement of the state government, medical and health services and essential services will continue as before while petrol pumps and dhabas present on the highways would also remain open. The state government also declared that there is no restriction on movement of those working in essential services, corona warriors, sanitation and the door-step delivery staff. However, all offices, markets and commercial establishments in the state will remain shut during the 55-hour lockdown. Railways would continue to operate as the UP Road Transport Corporation would make arrangement to operate buses to carry passengers arriving at the railway stations. Both domestic and international air services would also continue as before and there would also no curbs on movement of people from airports to their destination.
Bus services, besides those ferrying passengers to railway stations, would be banned during this period. The UP government statement also said that at every public place, an awareness programme would continue with the help of the public address system against coronavirus and other communicable diseases.
Industrial units in rural areas would remain open, the statement said, adding that besides the industrial units which work continuously, other units in the urban areas would remain closed. All major construction works of expressways, bridges, roads and private projects would also continue.
As many as 845 deaths due to Covid-19 was registered in the state till Wednesday. The total number of Covid-19 cases in UP is 9,980 while about 20,331 people have been discharged/cured. The state’s Gautam Buddh Nagar district has registered 172 new coronavirus cases, highest in the state in a span of 24 hours, and this has taken the district’s tally to 3,178 and death toll at 31.
Several states across India have enforced lockdown even as coronavirus cases in the country near 8-lakh mark and the death toll due to the disease stood at 21,064.
In Bihar, five districts including capital city Patna will go under lockdown from Saturday after more than a month as the state’s coronavirus count neared 14,000.
The lockdown measures in Patna, Bhabua and Purina districts will be for a week while Supaul and Nawada will observe the lockdown for three days.
In West Bengal, another week of total lockdown was imposed on Thursday afternoon across containment zones. The lockdown is spread across all 23 districts and includes 434 containment zones covering 25 in Kolkata.
The Covid-19 tally in Bengal has passed 25,000.
Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have imposed Section 144 and more prohibitions in certain parts to control the coronavirus pandemic in these areas.
The Centre had announced Unlock 2.0 guidelines but provided provisions for the state governments to take a call after assessing the situation.