Coronavirus outbreak: UP, Assam ease curbs on movement for stranded

The movement of people will be allowed based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Sarma said at a press conference

The Uttar Pradesh government will allow other states to take home their residents stranded in the state after the nationwide lockdown was imposed, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday. Assam, too, announced that it was easing curbs on movement of people within the state.

“If the governments of other states wish to recall their citizens stranded in Uttar Pradesh because of the lockdown, our government will give permission and cooperate,” the UP CM said during a review meeting on coronavirus disease with senior officials.

He also said the students brought from Rajasthan’s Kota should be asked to quarantine themselves in their homes. The CM said he will personally contact them and enquire about their well-being.

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Taking stock of the situation, he also told officials to take strict action against those violating the lockdown and not adhering to the social distancing norms. “A lockdown means total lockdown,” he said. The CM told officials to take all necessary precautions for Ramzan, which begins next week. He said no gathering should be permitted at the time of sehri and iftar, an official release said. Adityanath, however, directed officials to remain extra vigilant and reiterated the need to test all those involved in the supply of essentials.

The CM said industrial units in the districts not affected by the virus should be allowed to function according to the guidelines of the Centre.

The Assam government will lift restrictions on movement of people within the state for three days from April 25 to allow those stranded away from their homes to return to their families, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

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The movement of people will be allowed based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Sarma said at a press conference here. He said, however, that this was not a “blanket permission but will be conditional and people can avail this only with the prior approval of deputy commissioners”.

Sarma said only those returning home or going to work, as many government offices had reopened, will be allowed to move from one district to another.

Patients who need to visit hospitals and their attendants will also be issued passes by the deputy commissioners after examining their applications, he added.

Sarma said people with private vehicles who are stranded in another district away from home will also have to obtain passes from the deputy commissioners.

Anyone who uses the services of migrant workers can also apply to seek permission for their movement but not more than 25 people will be allowed in a vehicle as per the MHA guidelines, he said. The Assam State Transport Corporation will operate buses on designated routes for those who don’t own vehicles and are stranded away from their homes.