UP REPORTS 1061 FRESH COVID CASES, MAX IN A DAY THIS YEAR

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh recorded 1061 fresh Covid cases on Saturday, highest in this year and 29 more than a day before. The total caseload in the state reached 612351 while the death toll reached 8783 with four fresh fatalities, three in Lucknow and one in Prayagraj.

UP has 6615 active cases and 596953 patients have recovered so far.

Active cases have almost doubled in five days. On March 22 there were 3396 active cases.

Lucknow reported 273 fresh cases, Kanpur 79, Prayagraj 46, Ghaziabad 32, Gautam Buddha Nagar 41, Meerut 37, Gorakhpur 41, Varanasi 43, Saharanpur 46, Bareilly 33 and Jhansi 25, according to the data from the state health department.

The number of districts with zero fresh cases has also come down. During the first week of March up to 40 districts had reported zero cases in one day.

On Saturday, a mere seven districts, including Jalaun, Mainpuri, Mirzapur, Etah, Kaushambi, Hamirpur and Hathras reported zero fresh cases, stated the health department data.

Sudden rise in some districts

Some districts have shown sudden rise in fresh daily cases in the past one week, despite reporting zero or below five fresh cases for days in the first and second week of March. On Saturday, several such districts, including Mathura (29 cases), Saharanpur (46 cases), Unnao (27 cases), Balrampur (22 cases) and Badaun (19 cases) showed rise in cases.

Experts said this could be due to movement of passengers in these districts who were returning for festival holidays.

“People from many districts in Uttar Pradesh work in other states, including those where cases are rising swiftly and steadily,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors.

Amit Mohan Prasad, additional chief secretary, medical health has already appealed that people returning home from other states should get their Covid tests done before they finally reach home.

LKO REPORTED 273 FRESH CASES, KANPUR 79, PRAYAGRAJ 46, GHAZIABAD 32, GAUTAM BUDDHA NAGAR 41, MEERUT 37, GORAKHPUR 41 AND VARANASI 43