UP logs 11,159 fresh Covid cases, 17 deaths

Dip in fresh cases for the third consecutive day

LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh logged 11,159 fresh Covid cases and 17 deaths in the last 24 hours, witnessing a drop in the fresh case count for the third consecutive day on Monday. The state had recorded 13,830 new cases on Sunday and 16,740 cases on Saturday.

Lucknow also saw a considerable fall in the number of fresh cases for the second consecutive day.

“In all 1,86,679 samples were tested for Covid in the state. Till now, 98113556 samples have been tested,” said Amit Mohan Prasad, additional chief secretary, medical health, in a press statement.

“The test positivity rate is coming down in the state. From 7.78% on January 19, it is now at 6.19% (January 23),” said Prasad. There were 93,924 active cases in UP, of which 91,519 were in home isolation and about 1,300 in hospitals.

Cautioning people against infection, Prasad said, “Cases are coming down but they are in a stable zone at present. Whether they go up or come down depends on how we behave. We need to follow Covid protocol to curb infection spread and make sure the cases come down.”

Moradabad reported three deaths, Varanasi and Azamgarh reported two deaths, while Lucknow, Meerut, Jhansi, Sambhal, Ayodhya, Mainpuri, Mirzapur, Kanpur, Amroha, Jaunpur, reported one each, according to the data from the state health department.

The state’s Covid caseload reached 1957839 and fatality count 23,073.

One death in Lucknow

Lucknow too recorded a fall in the number of fresh Covid cases for the second consecutive day. On Monday, there were 1,818 new cases in comparison to 2,326 on Sunday and 2,660 on Saturday.

A total of 2,042 patients recovered during the day.

A Covid positive patient who died was a 71-year-old-man admitted to the Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences. He was suffering from chronic liver disease.

Areas that reported major caseload included Alambagh 251 new cases, Indira Nagar 181, Chinhat 245, Aliganj 244, NK Road 95, Tudiyaganj 83 and Sarojininagar 95.

Experts said the fall should be sustained by people’s efforts.

“New cases have come down, but it will take a few more days for active cases to reduce. It will be possible only if the infection spread is controlled by following Covid protocol strictly by one and all,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors.

Over 1,000 men and over 700 women tested positive in Lucknow. Among the fresh Covid cases, 132 had travel history while 563 were contacts of people who tested positive for Covid recently and their samples were taken during contact tracing. In all, 372 others tested positive following mild symptoms and 61 tested positive before surgical procedure.