Uttar Pradesh to impose coronavirus night curfew from December 25

When Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi came to Varanasi 100 years ago, he expressed pain seeing narrow streets & filth. Many people came to power in the name of Gandhi Ji, but it's for the first time that his dream of a magnificent Kashi has come true, says CM Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday issued orders to initiate strict measures, including a statewide night curfew from December 25, in view of a rise in Covid cases in several states.

The coronavirus night curfew will be applicable from 11 pm to 5 am, a senior official said here.

Chairing a high-level meeting, the chief minister also instructed officials to cap the number of people attending events like marriages to 200. These events have to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, and organisers will be required to inform the local authorities about these, the official said.

Adityanath also asked the officials to ensure all traders follow the "no mask, no goods" policy at their establishments, he said. Masks should be made mandatory for everyone on the streets or in the markets.

Police should carry out continuous patrols to ensure the guidelines are followed, the official said. Adityanath directed the officials to ensure that people arriving in Uttar Pradesh from other states or abroad are traced and tested for coronavirus, and extra vigilance is maintained on buses, railway stations and airports, he said.

He asked for a close watch to be kept on the health of those coming from outside the state after testing them, and if required, they should be admitted to hospitals or be quarantined, the senior official said.

Monitoring committees did a commendable job in coronavirus management in the past, and directives have been issued to reactivate them in villages and urban wards, he said.

The chief minister said that in view of the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19, the state made systematic preparations in the past which needed to be re-examined.

Facilities available at all government and private medical institutions of the state should be examined closely, and the Covid help desk and the day care centre in industrial units should be activated, he said.

The situation in the state is under control at present. Forty-nine new cases of the infection were confirmed in the investigation of over 1.91 lakh samples tested in the last 24 hours.

In the same time period, 12 people recovered from the infection, and the total number of active cases in the state now stands at 266. There are no Covid patients in 37 districts, the official said.

(With PTI inputs)