Uttar Pradesh to lift nationwide lockdown phase-wise from April 15, says Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh will lift the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown phase-wise from April 15, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told MLAs during a virtual meeting on Saturday. The three-week lockdown in place from March 25 will run through April 14. During the meeting, he asked MLAs to ensure that social distancing norms are observed in their respective constituencies and ensure no crowd gathers anywhere. 

The CM has also appealed to all MLAs and Legislative Council members to donate Rs 1 crore from their MLA fund and also a month's salary to the 'COVID Care Fund'. He has also called upon the private sector to provide financial support in this fund under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

Uttar Pradesh has 174 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as per the Union Health Ministry and two deaths have been reported.

READ | UP: Yogi Adityanath Readies Action Plan With Senior Officials For Post-lockdown Phase

Meeting with top officials

This meeting follows CM Adityanath's earlier interaction with the state's senior bureaucrats on Friday where he asked his 'Team 11' to prepare India's most populous state to steadily ease the Coronavirus lockdown after April 14. The 'Team-11' includes senior bureaucrats in the state including state Chief Secretary RK Tiwari.

Adityanath asked his team to prepare an action plan to deal with challenging circumstances of both — maintaining public health by ensuring social distancing remains intact and dealing with a large influx of people wanting to return from other states. Adityanath asked the officials to plan when and how schools, colleges, different markets and malls will re-open after the lockdown.

READ | Maharashtra Health Minister Hints At Phase-wise Relaxation Of Lockdown After April 14

Coronavirus crisis

The total number of positive cases in India has soared to 3072 while 75 people have died due to the infection. 213 people have either recovered or discharged. The country entered its eleventh day of the three-week shutdown aimed to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

(Photo: PTI)

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