Lucknow: On Monday the number of Coronavirus-positive cases in Uttar Pradesh crossed 300 mark with 27 more persons testing positive, taking the number of infected ones to 305.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said, "As many as 27 more persons, of which 21 are linked to the Jamaat, tested Corona-positive in the state since Sunday,".

The cases linked to the Jamaat were identified from Agra (29), Ghaziabad (14), Meerut (13), Shamli (8), Maharajganj (6), Kanpur (6) and Ghazipur (5).

The Union government a day before had said 30 percent of the cases in the country are linked to the Jamaat center in New Delhi's Nizamuddin, where the organization had held a congregation last month.

Awasthi made clear, "There is little possibility of lifting lockdown after April 15 as claimed in a section of media. We will not be in a position to lift the lockdown even if a single case of COVID-19 is left in Uttar Pradesh. So it can take time,".

The state has so far reported three deaths, one each from Basti, Meerut, and Varanasi while at least 21 of the infected people have been cured.

He further said, "Among the fresh cases in the state, eight have been reported from Sitapur, five each from Lucknow and Shamli, three from Gautam Budh Nagar, two from Agra, and one each from Kanpur, Bijnore, Allahabad, and Kaushambi".

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked people should adhere to social distancing and wash hands properly. The use of masks is advisable when you go to a public place.