In a bid to curb the alarming rise of COVID-19, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to impose a blanket lockdown on Sunday, across all urban and rural districts in the state. Reportedly, all services and markets will remain shut on April 18, 2021, to break the chain of virus transmission. However, all emergency services will remain operational.
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Uttar Pradesh has been reporting a volatile surge in COVID-19 cases and consequently, the state authorities have resorted to a weekly lockdown on Sundays, in all districts to arrest this aggressive rise. In the last 24 hours, UP has reported as many as 27,426 fresh COVID cases, raising alarms across the health and administrative spectrum. On the other hand, Lucknow has recorded the highest tally on Friday, adding about 6598 new infections.
In a review meeting, the state cabinet has also decided that it will establish more private hospitals to nurse the active tallies. At the same time, the Chief Minister has instructed officials to prepare a list of people eligible for maintenance/nutrition allowance. The state has promised to provide ration and other essential items to the needy.
The CM has further directed officials to ensure the imposition of lockdown restricts with strictness. For this, the state has also renewed penalties for not wearing a mask in public places. Now, violators can be fined ₹1,000 at first offence; the amount would increase by 10 folds if the offence is repeated, say authorities.
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