Weekend curfew in Uttar Pradesh, night curfew in districts with 500-plus Covid-19 cases

In a bid to curb the Covid-19 spread, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday imposed till further orders a weekend curfew in the entire state and a night curfew during weekdays in all districts having more than 500 cases.

While the night curfew in the districts with 500-plus cases will be effective from 8 pm to 7 am next day starting Tuesday, the weekend curfew will be enforced from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am, during which all non-essential activities will be restricted.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh govt announces free Covid-19 vaccine for all above 18 years from May 1

A top UP government official had earlier said the night curfew will be imposed “throughout” the state. These decisions, aimed at breaking the transmission chain of the virus spread, were taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The night curfew was imposed earlier in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly and Muzaffarnagar districts and the Lucknow Municipal Corporation area of the state. A state government bulletin issued on Covid-19 situation in the state on Monday had said the districts registering less than 500 cases include Maharajganj (497), Hamirpur (489), Mahoba (387), Sharvasti (354), Baghpat (306), Pilibhit (279), Kasganj (112) and Hathras (89).

The move by the UP government came hours after the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an Allahabad High Court order asking the state government to impose strict restrictions till April 26 in five cities amid the surge in Covid-19 cases.

Also Read | SC stays Allahabad HC order for lockdown in five UP cities to contain spread of Covid-19

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde passed the order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told it that the state government has taken several steps to contain the spread of coronavirus but to lockdown five cities by a judicial order may not be the right approach.

The high court had asked the UP government to impose strict restrictions including the closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities -- Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Nagar and Gorakhpur -- but stopped short of calling it a "complete lockdown".

On the issue of migrants coming back to the state from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Delhi, Chief Minister Adityanath said the bordering districts of UP must exercise special caution, and provisions should be made for smooth movement of the migrant workers. He also asked the Home Department and the Transport Department to coordinate and act to provide adequate facilities for the testing and treatment of the migrant labourers.