Rural surge ebbs, corona pendulum swings back to urban hubs

LUCKNOW:The maximum coronavirus cases were once again being reported from urban hubs, especially those in western UP, and no longer from the rural areas where the migrant workers returned from other states, a senior state government official said on Monday. This assessment was based on fresh reports of coronavirus sample tests, indicating that there was little or no current transmission of the virus from migrants to non-migrants in the villages.

Principal secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said after the migrants completed 14 days’ home quarantine, the state health department collected 1,687 samples of non-migrants in villages in 18 districts, in which the maximum migrant workers had returned.

Only one sample tested positive, he said, adding that it was of a migrant worker in Kaushambi. Even though only non-migrants’ samples were to be taken, the medical team had collected the Kaushambi migrants’ sample by mistake. After the migrant workers had returned to the state, the rural areas in districts known as the migrant zones initially witnessed a surge in the coronavirus infection.

To gauge the latest situation, 1,687 samples were collected from 72 villages in 18 districts — Jhansi, Kaushambi, Jalaun, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Mirzapur, Maharajganj,

Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharthnagar, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Banda, Basti, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot and Lalitpur. The test reports showed there was no major spread of the coronavirus infection in the rural areas anymore.

“We also wanted to see how seriously the migrant workers who have returned from other states and the natives already living there had followed the Covid-19 protocol. We are happy to inform that the report of the samples was negative. This means that the efforts of the monitoring committees and the appeals made by the administration have been successful in making an impact,” he said. Only a handful of migrant workers were expected to reach the state in the coming days as all the others have already returned. These days, the maximum cases were being reported from cities in west UP, particularly in the Meerut division, the principal secretary said. These cities have high population density. With the resumption of several activities after Unlock -1, people should protect themselves from infection by observing social distancing, covering wearing masks and resorting to regular hand-washing. Increased interaction among people was also leading to the spread of the infection, he said.

The mohalla surveillance committees constituted in the urban areas were directed to increase vigilance and voluntary organisations were told to create awareness among the people, Prasad said.