More on Covid-19

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that 15 districts in Uttar Pradesh would be under lockdown in the first phase till Wednesday.The announcement came soon after the Centre and state governments decided to put under lockdown 75 districts across the country where cases of novel coronavirus pandemic have been reported."Fifteen districts in the state will be locked down in the first phase from Monday," Adityanath told reporters in Gorakhpur.The districts where the lockdown has been enforced in the first phase are Lucknow, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad , Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Aligarh, Moradabad, Lakhimpur Kheiri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Meerut, Gorakhpur and Saharanpur The lockdown will continue till Wednesday, he said. "I appeal to all the citizens that they should stay indoors and not venture out of their homes.""Unnecessary crowding should be avoided, and people should avoid gathering at public places," the chief minister said. "This is because as we are standing at a juncture, where even a slight laxity can prove to be harmful."Adityanath said officials of the police and district administration would undertake patrolling in these districts. "No activity will be done in these districts, where lockdown has been enforced. We will review the situation tomorrow," he said.If any family needs anything in emergency, 112 service of the state police will be available, he added.