In order to control the spread of the deadly virus, the Indian government has imposed a 21-day lockdown in the country and is urging people to avoid all ‘non-essential’ travel. PM Modi announced a complete lockdown in the country.
The government authorities in Uttar Pradesh said on Wednesday hotspots of the Covid-19 disease in 15 districts of the state will be completely shut down to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection.
Uttar Pradesh has so far seen 350 cases of the coronavirus disease, including three patients who have died in Basti, Meerut and Varanasi each and 21 who have recovered.
The Yogi Adityanath government decided to completely seal those areas in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh that have emerged as coronavirus COVID-19 hotspots till April 30. Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida, Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Basti, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Maharajganj and Sitapur are the districts to be sealed.
Earlier, UP Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said that all 15 districts shall be sealed. Later in a statement, ACS Home Awaneesh Awasthi clarified that the sealing will be effective only in hotspot areas of these 15 districts.
The state government has identified 22 hotspots in Agra, 13 hotspots in Ghaziabad, 12 hotspots in Lucknow, Noida and Kanpur each, 7 hotspots in Meerut, 4 hotspots in Varanasi, Saharanpur and Maharajganj each and 3 hotspots in Shamli, Bulandshahr, Firozabad and Basti each.
The people in the above mentioned districts are not following the lockdown. The decision has been taken to seal these particular districts as it is here that the maximum numbers of coronavirus positive cases are emerging. The move is aimed at checking the further spread of coronavirus in the state.
The state will ensure doorstep delivery of all essential commodities for the residents and no one will be allowed to step out of their houses. The curfew passes will be reviewed and doorstep delivery of ration will be done, said the state Chief Secretary, RK Tiwari.
If anyone violates the lockdown, action will be taken against them under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
