UP schools to remain closed for classes 1 to 8 till April 4 amid rising COVID-19 cases

Lucknow: Amid rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday (March 30) extended the durations of the order which directed the school authorities to keep the schools closed for Class 1 to 8. The new date, as per the order, is now April 4.

Earlier, the state government had ordered the closure of schools for students up to Class 8 till March 31 in the view of increasing COVID-19 infections. The revised order was put out after a late-night meeting chaired by the chief minister on Tuesday. 

Additionally, to curb the rise of the COVID-19 infections in the state, the chief minister has also ordered concerned officials to increase the number of testing in the state.

The state on Tuesday reported 918 new cases and 10 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state’s capital, Lucknow topped the list with over 446 new cases in 24 hours. 

"The government employees going in for Covid-19 vaccination must be given a day's off on their due date. Likewise, similar arrangements must be made for private sector employees too," the chief minister said in a statement.

The Chief Minister also expressed his concern over the decreasing number of tests being conducted in the state and ordered the authorities to ensure strict implementation of COVID-19 guidelines  and containment plans.

On Tuesday, the state conducted over 67,000 COVID-19 tests in the last 24 hours. After reading the stats, the chief minister ordered the officials to conduct over 1.5 lakh tests per day. The UP CM also directed officials to conduct awareness activities for the citizens in the state.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, with 10 new deaths pushed the death toll to 8,800, while 918 new cases took the infection tally in the state to 6,15,996.