Weekend curfew in Delhi; schools in UP shut till May 15

NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced sweeping restrictions, including a weekend curfew and the closure of malls, gymnasiums, spas and auditoriums, in a bid to break the chain of the COVID-19 infection in the national capital.

He also said there is no shortage of hospital beds in Delhi and over 5,000 are still available for COVID patients.

There will be no in-house dining in restaurants and cinema halls will be allowed to operate with only 30 per cent capacity, the chief minister said at an online press conference a day after the city recorded the biggest single-day jump of 17,282 Covid-19 cases.

Kejriwal said the essential services and weddings will not be affected by the weekend curfew and passes will be provided to those attending weddings.

Those going to hospitals, railway stations and airports will also be issued curfew passes, he added. Kejriwal said the reason behind the weekend curfew was that on these days, people often indulged in recreation and other such activities that could be “curtailed” and “curbed” without much inconvenience to them.“But we will not allow any inconvenience to those involved in essential services like going to hospitals, railway stations or airports and also weddings. We will issue passes for their movement quickly and without harassment,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, all schools will be closed till May 15 while board exams for classes 10 and 12 have been postponed till May 20 in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the state government said on Thursday. The government also imposed an 11-hour night curfew in 10 districts with more than 2,000 active COVID-19 cases with immediate effect, according to a statement issued here.

The decisions were taken at a meeting virtually chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from his residence, where he has isolated himself after testing positive for coronavirus. The new dates for the board examinations will be decided in the first week of May, an official said.

“Schools up to Class 12 are being closed till May 15 and no examinations will be held during this period. Also, UP Board exams for classes 10 and 12 have been postponed till May 20,” the official said. Schools up to Class 12 were already shut till April 30. Initially, the UP Board exams were to be held from April 24 but were postponed to May 8 following the steep rise in coronavirus infections. Every year, about 56 to 57 lakh students of classes 10 and 12 appear for the UP Board exams.

During the meeting, Adityanath also directed officials to impose a night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am with immediate effect in 10 districts that have more than 2,000 active COVID-19 cases. The districts are in Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Gorakhpur, the official said.