Published 21:41 IST, March 23rd 2020
UP: CM Yogi Adityanath announces 16 districts will be under lockdown till 25 March
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday appealed to the people to support the government in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday addressed the media and informed about the lockdown that has been imposed in 16 districts of the state. The Chief Minister also appealed to the citizens of the state to support the lockdown and do their part in India's fight against Coronavirus.
"Uttar Pradesh is supporting India's fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. The Janta curfew was implemented successfully in the state. We have also begun the process of putting 16 districts of the state under a lockdown. These districts will remain under a complete lockdown till March 25. During the lockdown, all kinds of activities will be stopped and we have appealed to the citizens to remain indoors. We have decided to impose a lockdown as a precaution. I appeal to the people that this is a fight of the nation against COVID-19," the Chief Minister said.
"India has been able to control the spread of Coronavirus to a brief extent. We have controlled it in UP. So far we have 31 patients out of which 11 have recovered. Other patients are also stable and quickly recovering. Interstate services have shut from today completely. We are also working towards ensuring home quarantine wherever necessary. I am personally looking over all the related matters regarding this. We have enough testing labs and we have over 2 thousand isolation beds. We are working towards increasing it to over 10 thousand beds in the next few days. Cleaning and sanitisation work is also being done on war foot," the chief minister added.
COVID-19 cases rise in India
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases soared up to 420 on Monday. The death toll from the deadly virus also reached 7. Multiple states across the country have taken up measures to contain the spread of the virus and have ordered a complete lockdown at least till March 31, with an extension likely.
Numerous states have announced lockdowns till at least March 31, suspending all public transport services and non-essential services. The state governments were advised to issue appropriate orders to allow only essential services to operate in the 75 districts which have reported confirmed cases or casualties relating to COVID 19.
Updated 21:41 IST, March 23rd 2020