Ghaziabad, May 22 (IANS): The total COVID-19 cases in the Ghaziabad district have crossed 200-mark and the urban areas of the district have been classified as 'red zone', the district administration said on Friday.

In a tweet on Friday, DM Ghaziabad said the total cases stood at 202, with 163 people cured. At least 37 cases were active.

As per the health report of the district, there are 18 hotspots and the "entire urban area" of the district was marked as a red zone.

Later in the day, the administration will issue a fresh set of guidelines for the district, the DM added.

The health report of the district issued on May 20 said there were 196 cases and 15 red zones in the district while three orange zones. "Entire Ghaziabad is a green zone," the DM said on May 20.

However, after the directions issued from the Uttar Pradesh government, the urban areas of the district were made red zones.

The government has also listed the urban areas of Gautam Budh Nagar, Meerut, Agra and Kanpur City under the red zone.

As per the UP government's direction, all the districts where cases were not reported in the last 21 days were made green zones. The districts not in green or red zones have been marked as orange.

According to the Union Health Ministry, district Ghaziabad was declared in the Orange Zone on May 1.

"With the commitment to fight COVID-19 and strict adherence to all the existing Protocols, Ghaziabad is determined to move in the green zone very soon," the DM Ghaziabad tweeted on May 1.

However, after 21 days, the urban areas of the district -- Kaushambi, Vaishali, Indirapuram, Vasundhra, Sahibabad, Raj Naga, and Kavi Nagar among others -- were made red zones.