Lucknow, May 9 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to extend the lockdown till May 17 in the state to break the chain of coronavirus infections, the government said here on Sunday.

State Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal said it would be like a partial corona curfew. During this time all necessary services will continue as before.

In view of the fast spreading infections in the villages after the panchayat elections and the festival of Eid on May 14, the Yogi Adityanath government has extended the lockdown for a week, the official said.

In a review meeting with the Chief Minister, Team-9 decided to extend the lockdown till May 17 at 7 a.m. to break the chain of infections. All restrictions will remain in force as before. Essential services will continue to be exempted. Strict action will be taken against those who roam unnecessarily. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the objective of the corona curfew will only be successful if the protocols are strictly implemented.

Navneet Sehgal said, people themselves are not coming out of their homes. He said industrial and e-commerce activities will continue as before. Ration distribution and vaccination will also carry on. However, in containment zones, only door-to-door delivery will be allowed.

The UP government on April 29 had decided to enforce lockdown from 8 p.m. on Friday to 7 a.m. on Tuesday and then extended it for two more days till May. Then on May 5, the lockdown was extended till Monday (May 10) at 7 a.m. in the morning. Now it has again been extended till 7 a.m. on May 17.