Offices, shops across UP will remain shut on weekends

“From Friday 10 pm to Monday 5 am, some activities were restricted in the state under which offices were shut, markets were closed and general movement was restricted too. The restrictions had a great response on Saturday and thus the CM has decided that on five days, markets will be open from 9 am to 9 pm, and on the rest of the two days, markets will be shut but economic activities like industries will remain operational. Banks will be open on Saturdays,” said Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi.

“During the weekend, there will be cleanliness and sanitisation drives in markets just like the last two days. In urban areas, garbage would be disposed of properly, there will be anti-larval treatment as well as fogging. Covid helpdesks will also be ensured at all industries. CM has directed officials to ensure at least 48-hour back-up of oxygen in all non-Covid hospitals,” he said.

As per the health department data, the state recorded 1,388 new cases of Covid on Sunday, taking the total count in the state to 36,476. With 23,334 persons discharged from hospitals, and 934 Covid-related deaths, there are 12,208 active cases. Of the total deaths, 21 have been recorded in the past 24 hours.

“From July 2, we started a door-to-door survey programme from Meerut division; we reached every single house and recorded those with symptoms or comorbidity. This was also started from July 5 in the remaining 17 divisions. While the programme in Meerut is ending today, for the rest it will end by July 15. Till Saturday, more than 2.51 crore houses were surveyed, in which 12.94 crore people live. Those with comorbidities have been asked by our teams to be extra cautious,” said Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad.

Awasthi said that having reached the average per day testing capacity of 40,000 tests, the state now aims to increase this to 50,000 in the next few days. Of this, 30,000 tests will be RT-PCR and rest by TrueNat machines and Rapid Antigen Tests. He said that as per the medical education department, there are 15 labs in the state where more than 1,000 Covid tests are being conducted on a daily basis. On Saturday, the state tested 39,623 Covid samples.

On Sunday, Gautam Buddh Nagar administration carried out a special testing drive and conducted 4,177 tests, out of which 3,707 were antigen tests. Thirty persons tested positive. Results of RT-PCR are awaited, officials said.