UP to extend lockdown to all districts, curfew may be clamped in some areas: CM

All 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh will be under a three-day lockdown from Wednesday to fight the coronavirus outbreak, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced while warning that a curfew may also be imposed in some areas. A lockdown was already in place in 18 of these districts.

The restrictions in 17 states began on Monday and were initially scheduled to last up to Wednesday. Shamli was added to the list on Tuesday, hours before the CM announced the government’s decision to extend the lockdown to the rest of the country’s most populous state. "The entire state will be locked down from Wednesday till March 27,” Adityanth said after holding a video conference with officials.

He said there may be a need to impose a curfew in some areas, and the decisions will be taken by the district administrations along with their chief medical officers. Adityanath asked people to stay at their homes. There will no mode of conveyance available and the state borders have been sealed.

The CM said daily wage earners should get their fixed emoluments during the lockdown and steps are being taken to ensure this. He asked people not to use masks unnecessarily, saying this creates panic. "Masks are not needed by all and only those who need them should use them," he said.

He said directives have been issued to curb hoarding and overcharging. “If anyone is found doing so, a case should be lodged by the local administration," he said. The first 17 districts placed under lockdown are Agra, Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Meerut, Allahabad, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, Pilibhit and Jaunpur.