COVID spike: UP mandates masks in public places in these 7 districts; details here

In view of rising Covid-19 cases, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has made wearing face masks in public places mandatory in several districts of the state. These include - Lucknow, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Baghpat and Bulandshahar, reported ANI. 

The announcement comes at a time when Covid-19 cases in UP have seen an uptick over the past few days. UP in the past 24 hours reported 135 cases of Covid-19, as per the latest data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday morning. This is a 58.5 per cent jump over Covid-19 cases recorded on the previous day. 

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh government had put all the National Capital Region (NCR) districts on alert mode amid an uptick in Covid-19 cases in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. 

Directions to this effect were given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while chairing a meeting on Covid-19 management in the state,  an official statement said.

During the meeting, the chief minister observed that over the past few days, there has been a rise in Covid-19 cases in the state's neighbouring areas and its impact can be seen in the NCR districts. He asked officials to put all the NCR districts on alert mode, it said.

Cases have also been rising in UP's neighbour Delhi. It reported 517 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, according to Delhi State Health Bulletin issued on Sunday night. The national capital reported zero Covid-19 related deaths, while 261 patients recovered from the injection in Delhi. 

The number of active patients in Delhi now stands at 1,518. The positivity rate has now dropped to 4.21 per cent. The city had conducted 12,270 Covid tests in the past 24 hours. 

Delhi has been recording an uptick in Covid cases over the past few days. On Saturday, there was nearly a 26 per cent jump in the number of Covid-19 cases. The city saw 461 fresh cases and two deaths. It had on Friday recorded 366 Covid-19 cases and zero death.

The positivity rate in Delhi has been registered in excess of one per cent since April 4 when it had stood at 1.34 per cent. As the Covid positivity rate in the national capital has jumped from 0.57 per cent on April 1 to 5.33 per cent on April 16. However, it has dipped to 4.21 per cent on Sunday.