Unlock 4 guidelines: Schools, colleges in UP to remain closed till Sep 30

All schools, colleges and educational institutes in Uttar Pradesh will remain closed till September 30, the state government said on Sunday

All schools, colleges and educational institutes in Uttar Pradesh will remain closed till September 30, the state government said on Sunday, a day after the Union home ministry issued the Unlock 4 guidelines. Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said online and distant learning will be encouraged. Metro trains will be allowed to resume from September 7 in a phased manner, an official order said. For this, the standard operating procedure will be issued separately. Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatre, auditorium and similar places will remain closed. However, open-air theatres will be allowed to open from September 21.

The coronavirus induced country-wide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from March 25 and it was extended in phases till May 31. The Unlock process of the country had begun on June 1 with the graded reopening of commercial, social, religious and other activities. Unlock 4 will come into effect from September 1 and will continue till September 30.

The lockdown in containment zones in the state will remain in place till September 30, the order said, adding that the district magistrate cannot impose lockdown at the local level. There will be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement, it said. From September 21 onwards, 50 per cent of the teaching and non-teaching staff can be called for online education work. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will issue the standard operating procedure for this…

Covid-19 Factoid: India is taking just 3 days to add 10,000 new cases

Among 10 most affected Indian states, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have been doubling their count of cases at the fastest face; the UK has taken 26 more days than the US to reach 200,000 cases

The global tally of coronavirus infections currently stands at 3.8 million, and 265,660 people have succumbed to the infection so far. A little over 1.3 million of all reported cases have now recovered. Daily new additions seem to have peaked but there still have not been definitive signs of a decline. The number of daily new deaths has seen a marginal decline when compared with mid-April. In India, now there are 53,045 confirmed cases of infection, and 1,787 fatalities. Roughly a quarter of all reported cases have now recovered. Rising cases in Maharashtra and Gujarat continue to be a cause for concern in the country.

Here are some data points on the current extent of the pandemic:

1. India took just three days to add 10,000 cases to its tally

In a worrying trend, India is now taking just three days to add 10,000 new cases to its tally. In contrast, the first 10,000 cases had come in 75 days. After the first 10,000, every block of 10,000 cases has come in under 10 days, despite two very stringent lockdowns being in force...

2. Punjab and Tamil Nadu quickest to double their total case count

Among India’s 10 most affected states, Punjab and Tamil Nadu are doubling their number of confirmed cases at the quickest pace at present – in just seven days. By comparison, Maharashtra, the state with most number of cases, is doubling its count in 11 days. The national average for doubling stands at 12 days…

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