15 Districts In UP Sealed Till April 15; Know How Is It Different From Lockdown & How To Get Essential Items

The laws for these 15 districts will now become more stringent as during lockdown people can go out and get essential items.

Workers spray disinfectants near a statue of Buddha during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, in Noida. (Image: PTI)

Lucknow: In the backdrop of significant rise in Coronavirus cases and to avoid the community transfer of the deadly disease, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanatha-led state government has decided to ‘completely seal’ Coronavirus hotspots identified in 15 districts of the state starting today midnight till April 15 in an attempt to avoid the community spread of coronavirus. The laws for these 15 districts will now become more stringent as during lockdown people can go out and get essential items. The state government will make sure that people get home delivery of the essential items. According to the news agency ANI, the districts which will be completely sealed are the state capital Lucknow, Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahar, Firozabad, Maharajganj, Sitapur, Saharanpur and Basti due to viral load of COVID-19. Officials said all these 15 districts have six or more cases each. A list of the hot spots was not available instantly. The restrictions will continue till April 15 and final decision will be taken after reviewing the situation. The chief secretary of the state RK Tiwari said, "Only home delivery and medical teams will be allowed in these districts. It’s being done to prevent community spread, as numbers are high,”. Such measures were already taken in Bhilwara in western Rajasthan state which has now become a test case for a more targeted fight against the disease. Under the "Bhilwara model", adopted last month soon after about 30 people tested positive in the first big wave of infections, the town, and its surrounding villages were tightly sealed with a virtual curfew in place. People were not allowed even to step out of their homes to get essential stocks or medicines, instead, they were asked to call helpline numbers for delivery of staples at their homes. Commercial rail and air travel, as well as interstate travel, are completely banned across the country. Only people involved in the delivery of commercial services are allowed on the road. India is already under a three-week, nationwide lockdown, which began on March 25. There are reports that the Centre is considering extending the lockdown after suggestions by several states, including Uttar Pradesh.