Uttar Pradesh COVID-19 guidelines: Retail shops to open from 7 am to 7 pm, all schools shut till April 30

COVID-19 curbs: Markets allowed to open from 7 am to 7 pm in the state, as per the new guidelines by the state government.

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New Delhi: Amid an alarming rise in daily COVID-19 cases in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday (April 11) announced fresh restrictions including limiting the timings of retail shops from 7 am to 7 pm in the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also ordered the imposition of a night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am in the districts reporting 100 new daily cases or with 500 active cases, PTI reported. 

Meanwhile, all government and private schools have been closed till April 30, the statement released by the UP government said. The coaching centres will also remain closed during the period. While pre-scheduled examinations are allowed to take place, the statement added.

Key takeaways from the new COVID-19 guidelines:

1. A maximum of 50 people is only permitted in an indoor venue at social gatherings. 

2. The state government has put a cap of 100 people to be allowed to assemble at an open space for any event.

3. No 'prasad' allowed at religious places. 

4. Only five people are allowed to enter a religious place at a time.

5. Use of sanitizers, thermal temperature check-up to be done at the entry of religious places. 

6. Social distancing is must- at least 6 feet gap between devotees has to be maintained.

Earlier, the government had imposed a night curfew in Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida), Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar districts and urban Lucknow.

These new guidelines come on the day UP reported its highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic. On Sunday, the state reported 15,353 fresh cases, taking the active COVID-19 count to 71,241.

Out of total daily cases, Lucknow reported 4,444 cases, followed by 1,740 in Varanasi, 1,565 in Allahabad and 881 in Kanpur, the UP government said in another statement.

While 67 deaths were recorded in the state pushing the death toll to 9,152 in the state. 

(With inputs from PTI)