Uttarakhand: State-wide lockdown on Saturday and Sunday amid rising COVID-19 cases

To curb the spread of COVID-19, a lockdown will be imposed on Saturday and Sunday in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Friday.

"In view of the rising number of COVID cases, it has become more important than ever to break the chain of transmission, hence the lockdown has been imposed on Saturday and Sunday," the Chief Minister said.

"Essential services including operation of industrial units in multiple shifts, agricultural and construction activities, liquor shops, hotels, movement of persons and vehicles associated with these activities will be exempted from the lockdown," the CM added.

Guidelines issued by the state's government mandated that all inbound persons from other states register themselves on the Smart City web portal prior to their travel. Though no permit shall be required for such movement, registration documents will be verified at border check posts.

The guidelines further stated, "All inbound asymptomatic persons who have undergone the RT-PCT test from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) authorised lab, not earlier than 72 hours from the time of arrival, will be permitted to enter the state without restrictions, and will be exempted from quarantine.

There will be an upper limit of 1,500 persons per day (excluding people coming by train and plane) for all inbound persons travelling to the state without undergoing RT-PCR tests.

District Magistrates will be allowed to authorize 50 permits in exceptional circumstances. Such persons may have to undergo random COVID-19 tests at the border check posts, the guidelines added.

With 120 new coronavirus cases reported on Friday, Uttarakhand now has a total of 4,102 cases, including 996 active cases, 3,021 recoveries, and 51 deaths, informed the state's health department.

Meanwhile, India crossed the 10-lakh mark on Friday with the highest single-day spike of 34,956 cases and 687 deaths.

( With inputs from ANI )