The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to completely seal hotspots in 15 districts of the state till April 15 in an attempt to avoid community spread of coronavirus.
Chief Secretary RK Tiwari was quoted by TV as saying said the decision was taken due to the high load of cases reported from the hotspots.
“In an attempt to avoid the community spread of Covid-19, the state government has decided to lock down the hotspots in 15 districts. People related to health and delivery services will be allowed to operate in these hotspots. Also 100% home delivery of essential items will be ensured,” he said.
The districts where hotspots are identified and will be sealed are Lucknow, Meerut, Shamli, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Varanasi, Sitapur, Agra, Kanpur, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Firozabad, Basti, Bulandshehar and Maharajganj.
Many hotspots in these districts have already been sealed off by various district administrations.
“All coronavirus hotspots in 15 districts will be completely sealed till April 15 morning. Only home delivery will be allowed. These are places where a number of cases have been found,” said Director of Information Shishir.
The administration said hotspots have been identified as those places where more than six positive cases have been reported.
Tiwari had earlier said in the wake of the outbreak, the lockdown may be extended if the situation doesn’t improve. He added that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was monitoring the situation and a decision on extending the lockdown will be taken after a review.