Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], Mar 27 : Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary, Amit Negi, has directed all the District Magistrates of the state to prepare a list and distribute food packets among senior citizens, pregnant women and daily wage labourers amid the countrywide lockdown.
Earlier, the state government had announced that all local markets, which earlier remained open from 7 am to 10 am, will now remain open till 1 pm.
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Office said that the decision was taken to avoid the rush for buying essential commodities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country from March 24 in order to deal with the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country rose to 724 on Friday, including 640 active cases.
( With inputs from ANI )