Amid a rise in Covid cases in some adjoining states, the Uttar Pradesh government Monday made it compulsory for people to wear a face mask in public places in capital Lucknow and six other districts.
The government has made use of masks mandatory in public places in Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida), Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat as well as capital Lucknow, an official spokesperson said, news agency PTI reported.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to identify people in these districts who have not been fully vaccinated yet and administer the jab to them on priority while getting those with Covid symptoms tested.
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Meanwhile, people coming from states having high caseloads such as Delhi-NCR and others will have to undergo a mandatory Covid-19 test in Lucknow, as per latest reports.
In view of the improving COVID-19 situation, the Uttar Pradesh government had given relaxation in wearing face masks earlier this month.
In the genome sequencing of samples of Covid positive patients in NCR, only the Omicron variant of Covid has been confirmed, the official said.
Covid in UP
Uttar Pradesh recorded 135 fresh coronavirus cases, including 65 in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 20 in Ghaziabad and 10 in Lucknow, in the last 24 hours.
At present, the total number of active Covid cases in the state is 695. In the last 24 hours, over 83,000 tests were done of which 115 new corona cases were confirmed, he said.
During the same period, 29 people were treated and discharged from hospitals, he added.
The official pointed out that the progress of the Covid vaccination campaign in the state is satisfactory, but there is a need to accelerate the vaccination of children.
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More than 86.34 per cent of the state's adult population has received both doses of anti-Covid vaccine while over 94 per cent of adolescents in the 15 to 17 age group have received their first dose, he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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