Lockdown extended in Uttar Pradesh till May 17

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday extended the statewide coronavirus lockdown ending on Monday by a week, a senior official said.

The "corona curfew" was earlier scheduled to end at 7 am on May 10.

In a statement issued here, Additional Chief Secretary (Information), Navneet Sehgal said the "corona curfew" imposed in the state has been extended till May 17 morning.

"The corona curfew imposed in the state is giving positive results, and it is helping in breaking the chain of COVID infection. The number of active COVID-19 cases is registering a decline. In this scenario, it has been decided to extend the corona curfew till 7 am on May 17," the UP government said in a statement.

Essential work such as vaccination, industrial activity and medical-related work are allowed.

Instructions have also been issued to declare holidays in all government and private educational institutes and coaching institutes in the state till May 20. Online classes will also remain suspended during this period.

Uttar Pradesh on Saturday registered 298 deaths due to COVID-19 while 26,847 more people tested positive for the infection, pushing the state's virus tally to 14,80,315. So far, the infection has claimed 15,170 lives in the state.