Lucknow: Owing to the unprecedented spike in the COVID cases in the state, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Friday announced a total lockdown on Sunday in all districts of the state. The government also added that those caught without wearing masks will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. Repeat offenders will have to pay a penalty of 10 times the fine amount. “There will be a weekly closure in all rural and urban areas of the state on Sunday. Soon after the announcement, Mother Dairy issued a statement clearing the air on the supply of milk to the household during the lockdown. “Mother Dairy is part of essential services and we will be at your service without disruption on Sunday,” Mother Dairy said.
According to the order issued by the chief minister, only sanitation, sanitisation and emergency services will operate during this period. Necessary awareness works should also be done in this regard. “A fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed if someone is caught without the mask for the first time. If caught for the second time, a penalty of 10 times the fine amount should be imposed,” the chief minister’s statement said.
UP is one of the 10 states that have shown a steep rise in daily new COVID-19 cases accounting for 79.10 per cent of the new infections. Uttar Pradesh had on Thursday registered 22,439 fresh COVID-19 cases, its highest-single day spike in cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.
Yesterday, the administration had revised timings for night curfew in ten districts amidst the worsening COVID-19 situation. The curfew will now begin at 8 pm and end at 7 am. Earlier, the curfew timings were from 9 pm to 6 am.
Presently, night curfew is in force in Lucknow, Kanpur City, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Shravasti and Moradabad.