The governments in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on Wednesday decided to completely seal off coronavirus hotspots in their respective states. While the UP government sealed the hotspots in 15 districts to stop to the spread of the infection, announcing curfew-like restrictions there, the Delhi government sealed 20 COVID-19 hotspots in the national capital.
Addressing the media after a high-level meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Nobody will be allowed to enter or exit from these areas."
The government will ensure delivery of essential items in the areas that have been sealed, he added.
Following are the 20 hotspots which have been sealed in Delhi.
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- Entire affected street near Gandhi Park, Malviya Nagar.
- Entire affected street of Gali No 6, L1 Sangam Vihar.
- Shahjahanabad society, plot number 1, Sector 11, Dwarka.
- Dinpur Village.
- Markaz Masjid and Nizamuddin Basti.
- Nizamuddin West (G and D block) areas.
- B Block, Jahangirpuri.
- H. No 141 to H. No 180, Gali no. 14, Kalyanpuri.
- Mansara Appartments , Vasundhara Enclave.
- 3 Galis of Khichirpur, including Gali containing H. No. 5/387.
- Gali No 9, Pandav Nagar.
- Vardhaman Appartments, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Extension.
- Mayurdhwaj Appartments , IP Extension, Patparganj.
- Gali no. 4, from H. No. J- 3/115 (Nagar Dairy) to H. No. J- 3/108 (towards Anarwali Masjid Chowk), Kishan Kunj Extension.
- Gali No. 4, from H. No J- 3/101 to H. No. J - 3/107, Krishan Kunj Extension.
- Gali No. 5, A Block (From H No. A- 176 to A-189), West Vinod Nagar.
- J&K , L and H pockets, Dilshad Garden.
- G, H and J Blocks, old Seemapuri.
- F- 70 to 90, Dilshad Colony.
- Pratap Khand , Jhilmil Colony.
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The orders in Uttar Pradesh came as the state’s coronavirus count reached 361 with 29 fresh cases being reported. The state’s death toll went up to four, with one more person succumbing to COVID-19.
The identified hotspots include 22 clusters in Agra, 13 in Ghaziabad, 12 each in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Kanpur, seven in Meerut and four each in Varanasi, Sahanaranpur and Maharajganj.
There are three hotspots in Shamli, Bulandshahr, Basti and Firozabad, and one each in Bareilly and Sitapur. State capital Lucknow has eight major and four minor coronavirus clusters.
The news triggered panic buying with earlier reports wrongly saying that entire districts will be sealed off.
The restrictions in these pockets will be stricter than those under the lockdown already in place.
Unlike in the lockdown so far, people will not be allowed to go out to buy groceries. Officials said the administration will ensure doorstep delivery of items like vegetables and milk in these clusters.
Passes issued to allow essential movement are cancelled in these hotspots which will remain “sealed” up to April 15 morning, when the current three-week nationwide lockdown is scheduled to end.
In addition to the creation of these containment zones, the government said it is doubling testing for coronavirus – about 1,500 tests will now be conducted in the state every day – and will make wearing face covers mandatory for those moving out of their homes.
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Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Awanish Awasthi urged people not to panic.
“Only the hotspots will be sealed off and not the entire district,” he clarified. In other areas, the lockdown will be in place as before.
