Holi-milan Gatherings Banned in Uttar Pradesh; Senior Citizens And Children Below 10 Asked to Stay Indoors Amid Surge in Corona

New Delhi: The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday issued a notification and said that no procession would be carried out without prior permission for Holi celebrations due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. People above 60 years, children below 10 years, and those having comorbidities, have been advised to remain indoors during the festival.  While Holi falls on March 29 and Holika Dahan on its eve on March 28.

The guidelines, issued by chief secretary RK Tiwari, further state that persons coming from states that have a high virus load, will have to undergo Covid tests. Moreover, dedicated COVID hospitals will continue to remain operational in every district and tracking, testing and treatment will be aggressively pursued. The corona help desks are also being revived.

In a related development, the state government has also cancelled the leave of all police personnel till the Holi festival.

Read the official notification here: 

Schools Closed Till March 31

The Yogi Adityanath government yesterday also ordered closure of all schools in view of the surge in number of COVID cases. Classes from 1 to 8 will remain suspended from March 24 to 31 for Holi vacation. All other educational institutions, including schools between Classes 9 and 12, and higher education institutions where examinations are not scheduled, will be closed from March 25 to 31. Besides, all examinations of classes 1 to 8 scheduled between March 24 and 31, therefore, have also been postponed. A decision to this effect was taken at a late-night meeting on Monday, chaired by the chief minister.

“All examinations of classes 1 to 8 stand cancelled till further notice. After March 31, depending upon the situation, we will decide whether to promote all students or extend the academic session and hold examinations in state government-run institutions”, Basic Education Minister Satish Dwivedi said, adding that since children under 10 years come under the high risk zone, directives have been issued not to allow schools to function till March 31.