Coronavirus cases rise to 410 in Uttar Pradesh

The number coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh increased to 410 on Thursday, with 49 more people testing positive of the infection, officials said.

Four people have died in the state from the novel coronavirus till now. One death each has been reported from Meerut, Basti, Varanasi and Agra districts.

The total number of cases on Wednesday was 361.

Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said as many as 410 people have tested positive so far in 40 districts of the state.

Of the total cases, 225 are linked to last month's Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, he said, adding that a total of 31 people have recovered so far.

Prasad said wearing masks while venturing out has been made mandatory in the state under the Epidemic Act. “Wearing mask has been made mandatory in the state. If any citizen has to go out of the house under special circumstances then it is compulsory for him to put a mask, in case of violation of the rule, strict action will be taken against such a person,” he said. A bulletin issued here said t19 fresh cases were reported from Agra, taking the total number of cases there to 83. Of the total cases in Agra, 43 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, it said.

Gautam Budh Nagar district has 63 COVID-19 cases, Meerut (38), Lucknow (29), Ghaziabad (25), Saharanpur (20), Shamli (17), Firozabad (11) and Sitapur (10), the bulletin said.

Kanpur and Varanasi have nine cases each; Bulandshahr and Basti eight cases each; Maharajganj, Pratapgarh and Bareilly six cases each; Ghazipur, Rampur and Baghpat five cases each; and Azamgarh, Hathras, Muzaffarnagar, Jaunpur and Lakhimpur Kheri four cases each, it said.

There are three COVID-19 cases in Hapur; two each in Pilibhit , Banda, Mirzapur, Rae Bareli , Auraiya, Kaushambi, Mathura , Amroha and Hardoi; and one case each in Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Barabanki, Bijnore, Prayagraj, Badaun, the bulletin said,

Prasad said 9,441 isolation beds have been made available in the state so far and efforts are being made to increase this number.

He said in small cities where there are no big hospitals, private hospitals will be notified for treatment of coronavirus positive cases for which their patients will be shifted elsewhere.

So far, six private hospitals have been selected for this, Prasad said.

Additional Chief Secretary , Home, Awanish Awasthi said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed officers to ensure supply of basic amenities in sealed hotspots and proper review of these areas.

He said Adityanath has given instructions to collect information about the number of houses and population of these hotspots. He has asked officials to ensure sanitisation on a daily basis with the help of fire tenders in hotspot areas.

Apart from the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the hotspot areas, Adityanath has given instructions to senior officers to review the number of suspects and how many have been asked to remain in quarantine, Awasthi said.