Uttar Pradesh brings back night curfew from December 25, only 200 people allowed for weddings

Lucknow, Dec 24: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am from December 25 across the state, amid fears of surge in cases of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus across the country.

The Yogi-Adityanath government also restricted the number of attendees in a wedding to only 200 people, adding that it would be mandatory for people to follow appropriate COVID behaviour and all necessary guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Adityanath also asked the officials to ensure all traders follow the "no mask, no goods" policy at their establishments, he said.

Masks should be made mandatory for everyone on the streets or in the markets. Police should carry out continuous patrols to ensure the guidelines are followed, the official said.

Adityanath directed the officials to ensure that people arriving in Uttar Pradesh from other states or abroad are traced and tested for coronavirus, and extra vigilance is maintained on buses, railway stations and airports, he said.

He asked for a close watch to be kept on the health of those coming from outside the state after testing them, and if required, they should be admitted to hospitals or be quarantined, the senior official said.

Monitoring committees did a commendable job in coronavirus management in the past, and directives have been issued to reactivate them in villages and urban wards, he said.

The chief minister said that in view of the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19, the state made systematic preparations in the past which needed to be re-examined. Facilities available at all government and private medical institutions of the state should be examined closely, and the Covid help desk and the day care centre in industrial units should be activated, he said.

The situation in the state is under control at present. Forty-nine new cases of the infection were confirmed in the investigation of over 1.91 lakh samples tested in the last 24 hours.

In the same time period, 12 people recovered from the infection, and the total number of active cases in the state now stands at 266. There are no Covid patients in 37 districts

The new restrictions comes after the Allahabad High Court urged the central government to stop political rallies from being held in election-bound states, including Uttar Pradesh.

The court also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban election related gatherings in the state.

"Gram Panchayat elections and the Bengal assembly elections infected a lot of people, which caused many deaths as well," he said and added that political parties are organising rallies and gatherings in UP for the upcoming election. Following COVID-19 protocols at such events are impossible the judge also said.