Vikrant Shekhawat : May 09, 2021, 01:11 PM
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday decided to further extend the duration of the curfew in the state till May 17 amid a surge in coronavirus cases. The previous curfew was to end on Monday morning.On April 29, the state government had announced that weekend lockdowns will also cover Mondays and on May 3 it was extended till May 6.Most states have taken to lockdowns or night curfews to break the chain of transmission.In neighbouring Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today extended the lockdown by another week, saying it will be "stricter this time".Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said a massive coronavirus vaccination drive will be initiated for 18-44 years age group in the state from May 10. He added that 45 lakh vaccines have been administered to people above the age of 45 years.The BJP leader said UP recorded the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases at 38,055 on April 24, and the highest count of active cases of 3.10 lakh was recorded on April 30.The country, battered by a virulent second wave of coronavirus, has been reporting record cases. In the last 24 hours, it registered 4,03,738 fresh Covid cases and 4,092 deaths, taking the overall case count to 2.22 crore.Last month Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened the second wave of coronavirus to a storm and urged states to use lockdowns as an absolute last resort. He underscored the need for Covid appropriate behaviour and the use of micro-containment zones and curfews to stem the spread of the virus.