UP joins TN for weekend lockdown
India's most populous state to target 50K tests a day
As the country's COVID-19 tally rose to nearly 8.5 lakh, states have resorted to tougher measures to contain the spread of the virus.
The Uttar Pradesh government decided to implement strict restrictions across the state on weekends to check the spread of coronavirus, joining Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which have been imposing Sunday lockdown. The state has seen over 35,000 cases so far.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath said all markets will be allowed to open from Monday to Friday and the sanitisation in markets will be done on Saturday and Sunday.
The CM has also ordered 50,000 COVID-19 tests per day in the state.
Assam, Arunachal, Meghalaya and Bihar were among the states already announced area-wise lockdown for different durations.
The Karnataka government has now announced a complete lockdown in Bengaluru for seven days from July 14. Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami extended the curbs in Madurai and nearby regions including the Paravai Town Panchayat and several village panchayats till July 14. Authorities in Kashmir too began strict implementation of another phase of the lockdown on Sunday, sealing off historic Lal Chowk and 67 other areas in Srinagar which have been declared containment zones after a sudden surge in Covid cases over the past week.
However, there have been some positive developments in Delhi where the COVID-19 case count on Sunday remained below the 2,000-mark for the second consecutive day. And with the recovery rate improving to nearly 80 per cent, authorities have for now put on hold plans to use stadiums as makeshift coronavirus care facilities.
In the last 24 hours, the national capital has recorded 1,573 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 1,12,494 in the city, while the death toll mounted to 3,371 after 37 fatalities were reported, according to the latest Delhi health department bulletin.
Bihar registered the highest single-day spike of 1,266 novel coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 16,305 on Sunday even as nearly a third of its 38 districts were under lockdown to contain the pathogen.