Night curfew in Uttar Pradesh from today, curbs in several states amid surge in COVID-19 cases, Omicron fears

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to reimpose the night curfew in Uttar Pradesh from Saturday night amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and growing fears about the new Omicron variant.

According to an official statement, the curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 5 am. An upper limit of 200 guests will be in force for weddings and the district administration will have to be duly informed.

Government sources said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also asked all shopkeepers and traders to follow the "no mask, no goods" policy. Officials have also been asked to ensure that all those arriving in UP from abroad, and other states, are tested for Covid, with particular attention to be paid to railway and bus stations.

The decision has been taken in view of the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state. The Uttar Pradesh night curfew order also comes a day after the Allahabad High Court requested the Election Commission to consider postponing Assembly elections due in two months.

Thirty-one new COVID-19 cases were reported across UP on Thursday - much lower than the tens of thousands of cases detected daily in April-May. The state has reported two Omicron cases so far. After Madhya Pradesh, the poll-bound UP has become the second state to impose night-time restrictions.

Keeping the health situation in mind and to contain the spread of Covid-19, several states have come up with Covid-related restrictions from Christmas onwards.

Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan had on Friday said a night curfew of 11 pm to 5 am would be enforced effective immediately. The state hasn't yet recorded an Omicron Covid case.

Maharashtra

With Maharashtra crossing the 100-mark in Omicron cases, the state has imposed fresh restrictions and has night curbs in place. The gathering of more than 5 persons in public places across the state has been prohibited from 9 pm-6 am.

Gujarat

In Gujarat, night curfew time in eight cities has been extended by two hours over Omicron concerns, curfew to be in force from 11 pm to 5 am, said officials. Earlier, it was from 1 am to 5 am. The new time will be implemented from December 25 in the cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Gandhinagar. Gujarat has reported 98 new cases and 3 deaths today. Also, 13 fresh Omicron cases were reported in the state on Monday, a total of 43 cases so far, the state government said.

Haryana

Haryana has also come up with its own restrictions. Gathering of more than 200 people in public places and other programs is not allowed, and movement of people to be restricted from 11 pm to 5 am, Haryana Chief Minister's Office was quoted by ANI. Unvaccinated people cannot enter public places from January 1 in Haryana.