Minutes after the Uttar Pradesh government announced that parts of 15 districts, including Lucknow and Noida, will be sealed off to stop the spread of novel coronavirus, people rushed from their homes to the shops providing essential services to stock up.

Lack of proper information led to panic among the people and they stepped out of their homes to buy groceries, medicines, fruits and vegetables, etc. 

Here are the visuals from different parts of the state.

These areas of the 15 districts have been identified as COVID-19 hotspots. 

The 15 districts are Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar (GB Nagar), Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Basti, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Maharajganj and Sitapur. 

UP Chief Secretary RK Tiwari said only doorstep delivery of ration will be allowed. Curfew passes will be reviewed and no one else will be allowed to come out without the pass. 

The two main reasons for the decision is that the number of cases is rising and people are not following the lockdown. 

If an area has more than six cases, it will be considered a hotspot and that area will be sealed off. Only media, police and health workers will be allowed to come out and all other movements will be barred in these areas without curfew passes.