Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced a lockdown across the state on Sunday.

To enforce wearing of masks, the state government has doubled the fine to Rs 1000 for those caught without masks for the first time and 10 times the fine amount for those caught again.

“There will be a weekly closure in all rural and urban areas of the state on Sunday. Only sanitation, sanitisation and emergency services will operate during this period. Necessary awareness works should also be done in this regard,” an official statement said here quoting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath .

“A fine of Rs 1000 will be imposed if someone is caught without mask for the first time. If caught for the second time, a penalty of ten times the fine amount should be imposed,” he said.

The state on Thursday reported 104 deaths and 22,439 fresh cases, pushing the fatality count to 9,480 and the total infection number to 7,66,360.

The chief minister said that last year, the MLA development fund proved useful in the work related to spread of the virus. This year also, according to rules, the funds can be used in COVID management on recommendation of legislators.

He said the first phase of panchayat elections was completed in a very peaceful manner and strict legal action should be taken against those involved in breaching peace at some places so that it can set an example for other phases of the polls.