167 deaths, 28,287 fresh Covid-19 cases in UP

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh recorded 167 more deaths and 28,287 fresh Covid-19 infection cases across the state in the last 24 hours, according to official data released on Monday.

Besides, the active Covid-19 cases (number of patients under treatment) crossed the two-lakh mark in the state for the first time since the pandemic began. The total count of coronavirus infection cases in the state now stands at 8,79,831 and the death toll has touched 9,997 since March last year. At present, 2,08,523 active cases are under treatment in the state, according to the state health department

data. “In all, 1,06,843 patients are in home isolation and 4,100 are admitted to private hospitals. The remaining are under treatment in government Covid facilities,” said additional chief secretary (information) Navneet Sehgal.

LUCKNOW : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered that the National Security Act (NSA) and Gangster Act be slapped against people involved in the blackmarketing of life saving drugs, oxygen and Remdesivir injections. He also ordered confiscating the property of such people, a government release on Monday read.

He reiterated that it was the government’s priority to save every life and stressed on cutting down the response time of ambulances in ferrying patients to Covid-19 hospitals, ensuring supply of Covid-management drugs and oxygen.

“Consider hoarding and black-marketing of oxygen, Remdesivir and other Covid drugs as a serious offence and act,” he instructed the officers concerned. “Such acts of hoarding and black marketing are playing with lives,” he said.

“Work towards installing oxygen plants at each Covid-19 hospital under the medical education department. Once this system is in place, the hospitals will no longer depend on liquid oxygen. In future, private medical colleges too should have their own oxygen plants. Many MSME units and big industrial units produce oxygen for manufacturing products, but under the current circumstances work towards diverting the oxygen for medical purposes and send that oxygen to the nearest hospitals,” Yogi said at a Covid-19 review meeting with Team-11, a team of top state bureaucrats engaged in Covid-19 management in the state.

“All home isolation Covid-19 patients must get medical kits at home swiftly. Double the Covid-19 beds in all high-infection rate districts such as Lucknow, Kanpur city, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Jhansi, Gorakhpur, and Meerut,” he said.

Yogi highlighted: “Before placing an order before the central government for oxygen supply, first analyse the requirement of the state considering its large size. Establish a regular dialogue with the central government and big oxygen suppliers.”

The chief minister said that now Balrampur Hospital in Lucknow must function at full capacity as a dedicated Covid-19 hospital and so should the TS Mishra, Integral, Hind, Era, and Mayo Medical Colleges in Lucknow.

Yogi also asked for scaling up Covid-19 testing and expansion of existing Covid-19 labs and reserve 50% of 108 ambulances for Covid-19 patients.