The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday extended night curfew timings in capital Lucknow, Noida and several other cities that have been recording a surge in Covid-19 cases, PTI reported.

Apart from Lucknow and Noida, the state government had last week enforced night curfew in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Gorakhpur districts. Earlier, the curfew timings were 10 pm to 5 am. Now, the curfew will last from 8 pm to 7 am.

All these cities have reported over 2,000 active Covid-19 cases, PTI reported, citing an unidentified official.

The government also postponed board exams for classes 10 and 12 till May 20, according to the news agency. Schools in the state will remain closed till May 15.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath chaired the meeting, in which the decisions were taken.

As of Thursday, the state has reported 20,510 new infections, its highest-ever rise in cases. The state’s total count of cases since the outbreak of the coronavirus rose to 7,34,645. With 67 more deaths, the Uttar Pradesh’s toll rose to 9,376.

Panchayat elections in the Uttar Pradesh began on Thursday even as it registered a record increase in coronavirus cases.

India on Thursday reported over 2 lakh new coronavirus cases – a record high since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. This is the fifth straight day India has recorded over 1.5 lakh new cases and the ninth consecutive day of over 1 lakh cases. The country now has 1,40,74,564 cases. The toll rose by 1,038 to 1,73,123.