Uttar Pradesh govt extends lockdown to entire state to battle coronavirus

Seventeen of Uttar Pradesh's 75 districts that have reported positive cases of coronavirus are already under lockdown since 23 March.

The usually crowded ghats of Varanasi are almost deserted due to the coronavirus outbreak and the need for social distancing | Photo: ANI

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to extend the lockdown, currently being enforced in 17 districts, to the entire state to combat coronavirus and an announcement on the duration of the curbs is likely later on Tuesday, a senior official said.

“All of UP to be locked down by Wednesday,” Additional Chief Secretary of Information Awanish Awasthi said, without providing further details.

Seventeen of the state’s 75 districts that reported positive cases of coronavirus have already been placed under lockdown.

Uttar Pradesh has reported 33 cases of coronavirus, including a foreigner.

The districts currently under lockdown are Agra, Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Varanasi, Lakhimpur Kheiri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Meerut, Prayagraj, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, Pilibhit, Jaunpur.

The lockdown in these districts started on March 23 and was scheduled till March 25.