UP Govt Starts Bringing Back Workers; Infections in India Near 25,000-mark

The Uttar Pradesh Government has started bringing back workers hailing from the state who were stranded in other parts of the country due to the lockdown and as many as 2,224 labourers have returned in the first phase on Saturday, PTI quoting a senior official reported.

Briefing reporters, Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) Awanish Awasthi said the first batch of workers was brought back in 82 buses from Haryana on Saturday, and 11,000 workers will return by Sunday. All the workers will be kept in a 14-day quarantine.

It has also been directed that once the quarantine period of the labourers coming from other states ends, preparations should be made to provide them employment near their village, the official said.

Meanwhile, the cumulative figure of the virus nears 25,000-mark, standing at 24,942 as on Saturday evening till five. Of these 18,953 are “active” cases in hospitals and 5,209 are cured, according to Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The death toll due to COVID-19, disease caused by the novel coronavirus has now reached 779.