UP govt hints at extending the coronavirus lockdown beyond April 14

State has witnessed spurt in cases due to Tablighi Jamaat

With the Uttar Pradesh coronavirus positive cases touching 305 so far, the Yogi Adityanath government on Monday hinted that the 21 day lockdown period could be extended beyond April 14.

 

Of the total 305 cases, the Tablighi Jamaat attendees alone account for more than 50 per cent of the patients with 159 cases.

 

Addressing the media here this evening, UP additional chief secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi said it was premature to say if the lockdown could be lifted on April 14 given the sudden spurt in the coronavirus positive cases recently. He said the state would take more time to steer clear of the pandemic and the exact timing of the lifting could not be ascertained as of now.
 

 

“The jump in the number of the coronavirus cases is a cause of concern and the state would lift the lockdown only when there is no possibility of prospective spread of the disease,” he informed.

 

Awasthi noted if the lockdown was  lifted prematurely then it would defeat the purpose of the 21 day lockdown and undo all the efforts put in so far to contain the pandemic, although he added there was no indication of the community spread of coronavirus in UP.

 

He claimed nearly 1,600 Tablighi members had so far been identified in the state, of which over 1,200 had been quarantined. The authorities are in the process of tracking down the remaining Tablighi members for screening and quarantining. The state has urged them to voluntarily come forward in the interests of their family’s health.

 

Meanwhile, the government is expanding the network of testing facilities for coronavirus from 10 at present to 24 in near future. The state would fund the proposal from the newly constituted UP Covid Care Fund to upgrade the various district hospitals in 14 districts, including Kannauj, Jalaun, Noida, Greater Noida, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Shahjahanpur, Saharanpur etc.

 

“These facilities would ensure that in future, the state has a ready network of hospitals to deal with medical emergencies like coronavirus,” he observed.

 

Meanwhile, Awasthi warned against fake news circulating on social media platforms, especially video making mobile app TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp etc.

 

“A number of cases have come to light regarding fake news and material circulating on TikTok. We are talking to both the TikTok officials and the central government in this regard,” he added.

 

The state police have filed an FIR in Jaunpur district regarding spread of fake news on social media. The government has suspended a gram panchayat official in Hardoi district under similar charges.

 

Meanwhile, the police have lodged 9,955 FIRs under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defying the lockdown orders pertaining to the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. More than 10 million vehicles have been checked and fines totalling Rs 4.72 crore collected.