COVID-19 hotspots in 15 most-affected Uttar Pradesh districts to be sealed

COVID-19 hotspots in 15 worst-affected districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Lucknow, Agra, Shamli, and Saharanpur, will be sealed till April 15 in a bid to contain the spread of the highly contagious virus, state officials said on Wednesday.

"Districts which have 6 or more cases are Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Kanpur Nagar, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Basti, Saharanpur, Maharajganj & Sitapur. Lockdown will be observed in the hotspots in these districts," Additional Chief Secretary, (Home), Awanish K Awasthi said.

The state's Chief Secretary, RK Tiwari, informed that only home delivery and medical teams will be allowed to venture out. It's being done to prevent community spread, as numbers are high, Tiwari said.

According to the Union Health Ministry and Family Welfare website, 326 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh, including 21 discharged cases and three deaths.