Uttar Pradesh government moves to seal COVID hotspots across 15 districts till April 15

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to “firmly implement” the lockdown and ‘completely seal’ the COVID hotspots in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh that have emerged as corona hotspots.

The hotspots will remain sealed till April 15 during which intensive sanitization work will be undertaken.

The districts that have hotspots include Lucknow, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sitapur, Kanpur, Agra, Ferozabad, Bareilly, Meerut, Shamli, Saharanpur, Bulandshahr, Varanasi, Maharajganj and Basti.

Briefing reporters, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi said that in the identified districts there are multiple hotspots.

In Agra, identified hotspots are 22, Ghaziabad (13), Gautam Buddha Nagar and Kanpur (12 each), Varanasi (4), Shamli (3), Meerut (7), Bulandshahr, Basti and Ferozabad (3 each), Bareilly (1), Sitapur (1), Saharanpur and Maharajganj (4 each) and 12 in Lucknow.

Keeping in mind the multiple COVID hotspots, in districts like Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Kanpur, a large part of the districts will be sealed. Twelve corona hotspots identified in the affected districts had already been sealed earlier. These include four localities of Varanasi and Meerut and three in Lucknow.

The additional chief secretary, home, said that vehicular movement will be completely banned in the sealed areas. Journalists and photo journalists will also not be allowed in these areas. All grocery and vegetables shops, petrol pumps, banks and ATMs will remain closed in the hotspot areas. The government will ensure doorstep delivery of all essential commodities for the residents and no one will be allowed to step out of their house.

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