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COVID-19 Spike: Pune Restaurants, Malls Shut for Week, UP Schools Closed Till April 11

PTI |
Lockdown announced in parts of 4 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
COVID-19 Spike: Pune Restaurants, Malls Shut for Week, UP Schools Closed Till April 11

Image Courtesy: Reuters

Pune: Eateries, bars and restaurants in Pune district of Maharashtra will remain shut for seven days starting April 3 in view of a substantial rise in coronavirus cases of late, a senior official said on Friday.

A curfew will be in place across the district from 6 p.m to 6 a.m, and malls, cinema halls and places of religious worship will also be shut during this seven-day period, he said.

The administration introduced these "stricter restrictions" in the district, which reported more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases in the past two consecutive days.

The decision to impose these curbs was taken during a review meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar here on Friday.

Except weddings and last rite rituals, all other public gatherings have been banned in the district. For weddings, only 50 people will be allowed and only 20 people can remain present for last rites, he added.

Essential services have been exempted from the curfew.

Buses of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML), city's public transport system, will remain off roads for the next seven days,  an official said, adding that schools and colleges will remain closed till April 30.

UP: Schools up to Class 8 Shut Till April 11

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended to April 11 the closure of all schools for students up to Class 8, amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the state, according to an official in Lucknow.

Earlier, the government had shut schools for students up to Class 8 till March 31.

Uttar Pradesh reported 2,600 new COVID-19 cases and nine fatalities on Thursday, pushing the state's infection tally to 6,19,783 and the death toll to 8,820, according to a health department bulletin. 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued the fresh directions during a review meeting at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence here.

He has directed the closure of schools for students up to Class 8 till April 11, an official spokesperson said, adding that authorities have been ordered to ensure all COVID-19 protocols are followed for other classes.

During this period, teachers will continue to go to schools for administrative work while education activities will not be there, the chief minister said.

Adityanath asked officials to reactivate COVID-19 hospitals and give a report to him by evening in this regard.

He directed for special alertness in Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad and Agra.

Of the fresh cases on Thursday,  the highest of 935 cases were reported from Lucknow followed by 242 from Allahabad, 198 from Varanasi and 103 from Kanpur Nagar, the bulletin had said. 

Lockdown in parts of 4 districts of MP

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has placed urban areas of Chhindwara district and Ratlam city under lockdown, while it will come into force in Betul district and parts of Khargone from Friday night to prevent the spread of coronavirus, officials said.

The lockdown in Chhindwara's urban areas and Ratlam city came into force from 10 pm on Thursday, which will continue till 6 am on April 5, they said.

The entire Betul district will be placed under lockdown from 10 pm on Friday and urban areas of Khargone district from 8 pm. The curbs there will continue till 6 am on April 5, the officials said.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters here, state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said that separate teams of senior officials have been sent to these four districts to assess the coronavirus situation there and provide assistance to the local administration in the fight against the pandemic.

"In view of the spurt in coronavirus cases in Chhindwara, which shares border with Maharashtra, and to effectively control it, a three-day lockdown has been imposed in the district," Chouhan said.

The Sunday lockdown, which is already in place in

several cities in the state, will continue as before, he said.

Madhya Pradesh on Thursday reported 2,546 coronavirus cases, which took its infection tally to 2,98,057 and the fatality count has gone up to 3,998.

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