Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government on Friday decided to impose a complete lockdown in the state this weekend in view of a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, however, clarified that the decision has been taken only for this Saturday and Sunday.
“All of a sudden 200 fresh cases came in yesterday. The only solution is to create a gap and break the cycle. Even traders wanted to open the market for five days only and the situation also calls for it. So a lockdown is being imposed on Saturday and Sunday,” he told reporters.
It depends on the situation if the complete lockdown on weekends will be imposed in the coming weeks too, Rawat said.
Nearly half of Paltan Bazar, the city’s main market, was sealed and sanitised after the salesman of a shoes shop tested positive for COVID-19.
Traders of another prominent market in the city Adhat Bazar also decided to keep their shops open only from 9 am to 6 pm on Friday.
There has been a spike in COVID-19 cases in Uttarakhand over the past one week. The state reported 120 cases on July 12, 71 on July 13, 78 on July 14, 104 on July 15 and 199 on July 16.
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