Amid the huge surge in Covid-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a complete lockdown on Sunday. The government has also said that those who will be found without masks will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,100 if caught for the first time and if the same person continues to violate Covid-19 protocols and is caught without a mask again then he/she has to face a hefty fine up to Rs 10,000.
However, the essential services will be exempted from the lockdown.
All markets, gyms, offices, auditoriums, and cinema halls will be closed. A massive sanitization program will be carried out across all 75 districts and this will be a weekly feature.
UP is one of the 10 states that has witnessed a huge spike in new Covid-19 cases accounting for 79.10 percent of the new infections. Uttar Pradesh reported 22,439 fresh cases and 104 deaths and on Thursday, a record spike for the second day in a row after 20,510 cases on Wednesday.
Earlier, the UP government had imposed a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections. But, yesterday, the government revised the curfew timings amidst the worsening Covid-19 situation, making it 8 pm to 7 am.
Presently, night curfew is in force in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Shravasti, and Moradabad.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also closed all schools till May 15 and postponed board exams.