Vikrant Shekhawat : Apr 20, 2021, 02:27 PM
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh govt on Tuesday imposed weekend lockdown in the state to curb the spread of the covid-19. The lockdown will come into effect on Friday at 8 pm and continue till Monday at 7 am. The weekend lockdown will come into force from 24 April.According to the new order, districts with more than 500 active Covid-19 cases will also remain under"Only essential services will be allowed. Night curfew will remain imposed in all districts," said Awanish K Awasthi, Additional Chief Secy, Home Dept.The Supreme Court Tuesday granted interim stay on the Allahabad High Court order directing the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions till April 26 in five cities amid surge in COVID-19 cases.“There shall be an interim stay on the order of the high court," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said while hearing the state government's plea against the order passed on Monday.The high court had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to impose strict restrictions including closing of malls, shopping complexes and restaurants till April 26 in five cities, but stopped short of calling it a "complete lockdown". Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Nagar and Gorakhpur are the cities in which the high court has directed curbs.On Tuesday, India reported 259,170 new infections, the world's highest daily rate. Total coronavirus cases in India are now at 15.32 million, second only to the United States. At least 1,761 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, highest daily toll since the COVID-19 pandemic began.