7 UP migrants, who returned from Maharashtra, test positive for Coronavirus

As many as seven migrant workers belonging to Uttar Pradesh, who returned from Maharashtra via Jhansi in government buses to Basti, have tested positive for the novel Coronavirus infection.

The labourers, who arrived in Basti last week, were quarantined at a college and have now been shifted to a local hospital. The quarantine centre is being sanitised. All those who came in contact with these patients are being traced and isolated.

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The Uttar Pradesh government last Saturday began the process of bringing back migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country, who completed 14 days of quarantine on the orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The state government has estimated that around 5 to 10 lakh migrant workers would return to the state in the next two months.

Migrants stranded at various places across the country owing to the lockdown have been desperate to reach their homes. In one such incident, 18 people were found travelling in the mixer tank of a concrete mixer truck, by police in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. They were travelling from Maharashtra to Lucknow.

Meanwhile, a ‘Shramik Special’ train departed from Maharashtra’s Nashik for Lucknow early today morning carrying around 845 labourers.

Meanwhile, the movement of migrant labourers come after the Government of India on Wednesday issued an order to all the States and Union Territories to facilitate Inter-State movement of stranded people in various places.

According to the Health Ministry data, Uttar Pradesh has so far recorded 2,328 Coronavirus cases and 42 deaths.

In order to contain the spread of virus, the government has further extended the lockdown for two more weeks. It was supposed to end on May 3 but has now been extended till May 17. However, some relaxations will be provided to green and orange zones in the third phase of lockdown.