As UP Reports its Highest Covid Spike, Schools Shut in State Till April 30

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday ordered the closure of all schools till April 30 and directed the imposition of a night curfew in the districts, which report 100 new infections in a day or have 500 active cases. According to a government statement, the government also ordered that not more than 100 people be allowed to assemble at an open space for an event while the number has been put at 50 for closed spaces.

The fresh government directives have come on a day the state reported its highest single-day spike of 15,353 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic. So far, 9,152 people have died from the infection in the state, which has reported 6,92,015 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Earlier, a night curfew was imposed in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar districts and the Lucknow civic body area. On April 2, the UP government had extended till April 11 the closure of all schools for students of Classes 1 to 8.

According to the statement issued on Sunday, all government and private schools will remain closed till April 30 while pre-scheduled examinations can be held. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Adityanath said a night curfew be imposed from 9 pm to 6 am in the districts that report 100 fresh cases in a day or have 500 active COVID-19 cases. Stressing the need to focus on the test, trace and treat approach, the government said the daily count of RT-PCR tests should be taken to one lakh.

Tracing of at least 30-35 persons who have come in contact with a COVID-19 patient should be done, the directives said. The UP chief minister said an effective COVID-19 vaccination drive should be carried out as a four-day Tika Utsav began in the state on Sunday. The four-day vaccination programme, which began on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotibha Phule, will continue till April 15, the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar.

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