COVID-19: Schools in UP shut till May 15, night curfew imposed in 10 districts

All schools in Uttar Pradesh will be closed till May 15 while board exams for classes 10 and 12 have been postponed till May 20 in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, the state government said on Thursday.

The government also imposed an 11-hour night curfew in 10 districts with more than 2,000 active COVID-19 cases with immediate effect, according to a statement issued in Lucknow.

The decisions were taken at a meeting virtually chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from his residence, where he has isolated himself after testing positive for coronavirus.

The new dates for the board examinations will be decided in the first week of May, an official said.

"Schools up to Class 12 are being closed till May 15 and no examinations will be held during this period. Also, UP Board exams for classes 10 and 12 have been postponed till May 20," the official said.

Schools up to Class 12 were already shut till April 30. Initially, the UP Board exams were to be held from April 24 but were postponed to May 8 following the steep rise in coronavirus infections in the state.

Every year, about 56 to 57 lakh students of classes 10 and 12 appear for the UP Board exams.

During the meeting, Adityanath also directed officials to impose a night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am with immediate effect in 10 districts that have more than 2,000 active COVID-19 cases.The districts are in Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Gorakhpur, the official said.

The chief minister also said that people should also be told about the importance of wearing masks and sanitisation. Since Lucknow is the state capital, he said, it's obvious that more people will come here. So additional arrangements should be made in the city." King George's Medical University and Balrampur Hospital should be made dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in a phased manner. In private hospitals, too, the number of beds should be increased," he said.

On panchayat polls, which began on Thursday, Adityanath said all personnel on duty should follow COVID-19 protocols and gloves, sanitisers and masks should be made available.

On migrants returning to Uttar Pradesh from other states, he asked officials to create quarantine centres in every district with necessary facilities. He said the chief medical officer will monitor the availability of oxygen and anti-viral drug Remdesivir and that there should be no shortage of essentials in hospitals.