Coronavirus outbreak: 20 hotspots in Delhi, 104 in Uttar Pradesh sealed

The Delhi government has sealed 20 Covid-19 hotspots in the national capital to combat the spread of the novel virus, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced on Wednesday.
 

According to the government, the 20 hotspots include parts of Sangam Vihar, Malviya Nagar and Jahangirpuri that have been notified as “containment areas” where people cannot go out of their houses and the government will ensure delivery of essential items.
 

“Nobody will be allowed to enter or exit from these areas,” he said. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held the meeting with ministers and top officials to discuss measures to contain the Covid-19 spread.
 

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Wednesday mounted to 669, with 93 fresh cases reported in a day, according to the Delhi health department.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced that it would seal coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hotspots identified in 15 districts of the state till the end of the 21-day nationwide lockdown on April 14.
 

The districts where orders will be implemented are Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Lucknow, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Kanpur, Basti, Ferozabad, Saharanpur, Maharajganj, and Sitapur.

According to the state’s Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi, a total of 104 hotspots spread across 81 police station in these districts have been identified, wherein a “complete lockdown” would be enforced from midnight on Wednesday. The patrolling would be intensified in these areas to ensure compliance.

 

Agra had the highest number of hotspots at 22, followed by Ghaziabad with 13, and Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Kanpur accounting for 12 hotspots each.
 

With the number of Covid-19 cases in UP jumping to 343 — 187 cases pertained to the religious gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi — the state decided to seal all the affected localities to prevent the spread in the immediate vicinities.

In effect, these localities would be under a curfew-like situation with the state government announcing the cancellation of all the passes issued to locals.

“There would complete prohibition on the movement of people in these areas and the authorities would make arrangements for the doorstep delivery of all essential commodities, including food, milk, medicines,” Awasthi said, adding that no shop, including banks, would be open.
 

He, however, clarified that the order would not be enforced in the entire district, but only in specific localities till the morning of April 15 even as he was non-committal on the lifting of the lockdown in the state after that day, saying a decision would be taken in due course.
 

Now, these sealed localities would be sanitised and all the affected people and those coming in direct contact of the patients would be identified.
 

“There would be no movement of people even within the inner lanes of these affected localities and the police would put up barricades for this purpose,” UP Director General of Police (DGP) Hitesh Chandra Awasthi told the media here.
 

Meanwhile, the state will also issue a government order (GO) mandating every person to wear a mask when venturing outdoors to prevent the spread of the infection, said Amit Mohan Prasad, principal secretary of the state’s health and family welfare department.