Restrictions under Section 144 imposed in Gautam Buddh Nagar in view of rising COVID19 cases & upcoming festivals

On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar Police invoked Section 144 ahead of Holi and other imminent festivals, and further restricted unauthorised protests and warning of action against people not following COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing and wearing face masks at public places, according to an order. As a precautionary measure against COVID-19 because of upcoming festivals, the restriction is being imposed between March 17 to April 30. Since the festivals such as Holi, Good Friday, Ambedkar Jayanti, Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti, Maharishi Kashyap Jayanti, Navratri, and Hanuman Jayanti will fall between March 17 to April 30.

And with the day to day rapid increase in the new COVID cases in India with 536 new cases alone in Delhi, indeed Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey had issued the order under section 144 criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to prevent gatherings given the festivals ahead this month. As many as 35,871 new COVID-19 cases and 17,741 recoveries and 172 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry, ANI Tweeted on Wednesday.

With the addition of fresh infections, the total cases in the country reached 1,14,74,605, including 2,52,364 active cases and 1,10,63,025 recoveries. The death toll stands at 1,59,216 recorded in the last 24 hours. As many as 3,71,43,255 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far.

Looking to the good side, the vaccine drive is actively working and reassuring the availability in the market. With relevance to this, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS), took his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday and assured that it will be available in the open market only when the prime targets-people to be vaccinated-are covered and there is an equivalence of supply-demand.

So far, India has already provided millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses to states and union territories in the meantime the country has also recorded 6.5% vaccine wastage, reported health officials on Wednesday.