After spurt in Covid-19 cases, Uttarakhand enforces weekend lockdown in 4 districts

DEHRADUN: In the wake of sudden spurt in Covid-19 positive cases, the Uttarakhand government has decided to enforce a complete lockdown on Saturday and Sunday in four districts – Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital and Haridwar – which have reported the maximum number of infections in the state.
The state government has permitted shops related to emergency services, dairy, hotels, liquor and medical stores to remain open during the weekend. Besides, construction activities, movement of goods on national highways and state highways, too, have been permitted during this duration.
A circular issued by chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh to the senior state officials mentions that “there shall be a complete lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays in the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital, except for essential services, including operation of industrial units in multiple shifts, agricultural and construction activities, liquor shops, hotels, movement of people associated with these activities, movement of goods on national and state highways, loading and unloading of cargo and people travelling to their destinations after disembarking from buses, trains and airplanes.”
The circular further mentions, “There shall be an upper limit of 1,500 people per day, including those coming from trains and planes, and for all inbound individuals travelling to the state without undergoing RT-PCR tests. In exceptional circumstances, DMs will be allowed to issue around 50 permits, over and above this limit, to those in distress.”
After 199 positive cases surfaced in the state on Thursday, 120 Covid-19 positive cases were reported in the state on Friday taking the total number of cases to 4,102. Out of these, 999 cases are from Dehradun, 671 from Udham Singh Nagar, 648 from Nainital and 455 from Haridwar. Out of the total of 4,102 cases, the four major districts make up for 2,773 cases.
Speaking about the weekend lockdown decision, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat said, “There has been a spurt in the number of cases. On Thursday alone, 199 positive cases were reported. We need to create a gap and stop the cycle. For long, traders, too, had been saying that shops should be kept open only for five days in the week. We therefore felt that the situation demands a lockdown.”
He added, “Like earlier, we are going to use the weekend for proper sanitisation. Our focus would be in cities and areas from where the maximum number of positive cases have been reported.”
On being asked whether the weekend lockdown would continue in future, he said, “We will analyse the situation next week and then decide accordingly. Throughout the unlock phase, we have taken decisions on the basis of the developments each week.”
Earlier, the state government had enforced a lockdown during weekends in Dehradun. The move was initiated after a high number of Covid-19 positive cases were reported in the state capital, especially in Niranjanpur wholesale vegetable market.