All schools and colleges in Uttar Pradesh are toremain closeduntilJanuary 23, 2022, the state government said on Sunday. The decision was taken iafter a soike in COVID-19 cases in the state and across the country. Earlier on January 5, the Uttar Pradesh government had ordered to close all government and private schools for students up to class 10 till January 16.

Several other states are also extending the closure of schools due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Telangana on Sunday ordered to educational institutions to remain closed till January 30, 2022. Similarly, schools and colleges in Madhya Pradesh will remain closed till January 31. Schools in Bengaluru will remain closed till January 31 while schools in Kerala for students up to class 9 will remain closed till January 21.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath chaired a meeting to review the COVID impact. He also inspected arrangements related to COVID-19 management in King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow.

Speaking to reporters, Yogi informed that the state has around 1.03 lakh active cases.

"Lucknow has reported 2,300 positive cases today, active cases stand at 16,300. Less than 1 per cent of patients are admitted to hospital," he added.

"Vaccination drive has been so well that third wave hasn't impacted us as much. UP vaccinated around over 22.87 crore people, of which 21.37 lakh are children aged between 15-18 tears and 3.87 lakh are people above 60 years of age or those with comorbidities with booster doses," Yogi said.