COVID-19: UP limits office occupancy to 50%, caps the number of visitors in religious places

Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh has been recording new highs of daily cases for the past few days, taking the number of active cases in the state to 58,801. Amid this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a review meeting recently, during which he directed Lucknow officials to make at least 2,000 ICU beds available, and an additional 2,000 COVID-19 beds to be arranged in the coming week, according to a report in IE. The Lucknow DM was also directed to ensure that at least 30-35 contacts of each person testing positive is traced as well as tested for the virus.

Apart from this, the Police Commissioner of Lucknow has also been directed to make sure that at a time, a maximum of five people are allowed inside any religious place. Action would also be taken against those who fail to wear masks.

The report also quoted Additional Chief Secretary of Health Amit Mohan Prasad as saying that the situation is intense in terms of the spread of the virus, and therefore, there is a need for increase in surveillance, testing as well as tracking of cases and this is the strategy the state is now adopting. Prasad also said that some districts are witnessing special measures like the placing of night curfews and limiting office occupancies to 50% for the government as well as non-government offices, especially in Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj and Kanpur.

CM Yogi has also ordered the setting up of several dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Lucknow to provide a better and more robust healthcare system and infrastructure to the patients visiting the state capital from across UP for treatment. Additional human resources are also being arranged alongside.

Meanwhile, UP government has also ordered an increase in vaccination drives being carried out in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Agra, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur. CM Yogi also directed officials to ensure that the COVID-19 hospitals have sufficient medicines, health personnel, medical equipment, back-ups as well as adequate oxygen.

Amid the serious situation and the state’s efforts to fight against the pandemic, DM Navneet Singh Chahal has said that in Mathura, Goverdhan, Barsana, and Vrindavan, devotees would not be allowed to enter any temple without wearing masks or following social distancing norms. Notably, all of these places are linked to Lord Krishna, who is considered the Supreme God by many Hindus, and thus, these places are key pilgrimage sites in the Vaishnavite traditions. Temples in these places are also now witnessing surprise checks.