Uttar Pradesh Govt declares 35-hr curfew from 8 pm today

As the state reported 27,426 new cases on Friday – another record single-day jump – the government also announced a “weekly closure” of markets on Sundays.

The state government on Friday announced a 35-hour curfew across the state — from 8 pm on Saturday till 7 am on Monday.

“Essential services, polling officials for the Panchayat polls, health and sanitation workers will be exempted from the curfew,” read an order issued by Chief Secretary RK Tewari.

As the state reported 27,426 new cases on Friday – another record single-day jump – the government also announced a “weekly closure” of markets on Sundays.

The government announced that three dedicated Covid hospitals would be built in the state capital in the coming days. One of those facilities, with a capacity of 1,000 beds, will be set up at the Defence Expo venue. A government spokesperson said the other two would be established at Haj House and Golden Blossom hotel on the city’s outskirts, and would have a combined capacity of 2,100 beds. “Dedicated Covid hospitals will be coming up at all four corners of the city,” the spokesperson added.

To ensure people wear masks, the government increased the penalty for not wearing a mask in public to Rs 1,000 for the first violation. For the second offence, the fine is Rs 10,000.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh recorded its highest single-day rise in Covid case on Friday with 27,426 infections. It also recorded 103 deaths in 24 hours. The active case count in the state crossed 1.5 lakh. Lucknow is the worst hit with 40,753 active cases. The capital reported 35 deaths and 6,598 cases — its highest single-day jump — in 24 hours. The other districts that reported a high number of new cases were Varanasi (2,344), Prayagraj (1,758) and Kanpur Nagar (1403). The districts after Lucknow where the most deaths occurred in 24 hours were Kanpur Nagar (seven deaths), followed by Ballia and Varanasi (five deaths each).

The government tested 2.23 lakh samples in 24 hours, taking the number of tests conducted till now to 3.78 crore. The government said private and government-run Covid testing facilities would function at full capacity, and no complacency would be tolerated. “District administration must ensure quality control in the arrangement for tests,” said the spokesperson.

A day after Lucknow’s King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Balrampur Hospital, and the Cancer Institute were declared dedicated Covid hospitals, the government said OPD services in these facilities would remain suspended. It announced more Covid facilities.

“Similarly, Era Medical College, TS Mishra Medical College, and Integral Medical College, Mayo Medical College and Hind Medical College in Lucknow have been declared dedicated Covid hospitals. Emergency services at KGMU’s Trauma Centre will continue to be functional,” said the spokesperson.

The government has also ordered the district administrations in the 10 worst-affected districts, including Kanpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj, to requisition private hospitals for efforts to contain the disease. “Beds must be increased in all districts. In Prayagraj, Avilamb United Medical College will be converted into a dedicated Covid hospital,” said the government. All 108 ambulances would be used only for Covid patients, it added.

The government directed district administrations to make quarantine centres functional. “Along with treatment, there should be arrangements for food and shelter at the quarantine centres,” said the spokesperson.

The government announced that it had ordered ventilators to be brought from Delhi, and added that a team of doctors from the national capital would arrive here to treat Covid patients.

Regarding vaccination, ACS (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said that 89.09 lakh people had received the first vaccine dose. Of them, 14.87 lakh had received the second dose, he added.

The senior official said people with symptoms awaiting their Covid reports could start the treatment prescribed for home isolation. “The prescribed medicines have no side effects and can be taken till test reports are available,” Prasad added.

According to the government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has told officials they must ensure that those who eligible should receive the benefits of government schemes such as distribution of ration and money transfer.

In Lucknow, the district administration announced on Friday that 17 private hospitals would treat people for Covid-19 under the Ayushman Bharat and the CM Jan Arogya health schemes.

“The information of all the patients admitted here will be available in the Integrated Command and Control Centre established in Lucknow. All these private hospitals will act as the first point of contact for treatment of Covid-19 infected patients,” said an official.

The 17 hospitals are Advanced Neuro and General Hospital, Avon Hospital, Apollo Medics, Career Institute of Medical Science and Hospital, Fahmina Hospital and Trauma Centre Blood Bank, Green City Hospital, Jaypee Hospital, King Medical Center, Maa Chandrika Devi Hospital, Pooja Hospital and Multispeciality Center, Rajdhani Hospital, Sanjeevani Medical Center, Sri Sai Life Hospital, Vaga Hospital, Vinayak Medicare Hospital, Vinayak Trauma Center & Hospital and SIPS Burn Hospital.

“All these private hospitals have a total of 405 beds. There are 45 beds with ventilators and 360 beds with oxygen,” said the official.

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