UP TALLY RISES TO 558, STATE GOVT ORDERS ACTION

LUCKNOW : The statewide tally of Covid-19 infected patients increased to 558 on Monday, up by 75 from 483 reported till Sunday, according to data compiled by the health department. The CM has directed DMs and SPs of all 75 districts to check all villages, as well as the localities in urban areas, to locate the suspected Covid positive people, who might be hiding.

LUCKNOW : The statewide tally of Covid-19 infected patients increased to 558 on Monday, up by 75 from 483 reported till Sunday, according to data compiled by the health department.

Etawah and Kasganj districts reported coronavirus cases for the first time on Monday.

Among the fresh cases, at least 37 belong to the Tablighi Jamaat. With this, the total number of Jamaat members who have tested positive for the coronavirus has increased to at least 307.

“In all, 49 patients recovered and they have been sent to home quarantine,” said Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, state surveillance officer. Amid the surge in cases, the state government decided to crack down on people who were hiding despite having Covid-19 symptoms. The government also decided to take action against those who had given shelter to infected people.

Addressing a press conference, additional chief secretary, home, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday directed the district magistrates and superintendents of police of all 75 districts to check all villages, as well as the localities in urban areas, to locate the suspected Covid positive people, who might be hiding.

The officers were also directed to search religious places to locate suspected people, he said.

As many as 481 cases were reported in hotspots, which account for 85% of the positive cases in the state. Around 20 lakh people live in these hotspots in 15 districts. The district administration and health department teams have surveyed 1.72 lakh houses and 9.78 lakh people in 146 hot spots in 15 districts.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had adopted the ring fence model, popularly called the Yogi model, to check the spread of the coronavirus by sealing hotspots that have turned into breeding grounds for the coronavirus, he said.

FIRs have been lodged against violators and vehicles have been seized. The DMs were directed to highlight the action taken in the hotspots by inviting media persons to the district control rooms, he said.

According to the health department, the districts that reported cases till now are Agra (139), Lucknow (36), Ghaziabad (27), Noida (68), Lakhimpur Kheri (4), Kanpur (9), Pilibhit (2), Moradabad (2), Shamli (17), Jaunpur (4), Baghpat (7), Meerut (56), Bareilly (6), Bulandshahr (11), Basti (14), Hapur (6), Ghazipur (5), Azamgarh (6), Firozabad (19),

Hardoi (2), Pratapgarh (6), Saharanpur (39), Shahjahanpur (1), Banda (2), Maharajganj (6), Hathras (4), Mirzapur (2), Rae Bareli (2), Auraiyya (3), Barabanki (1), Kaushambi (2), Bijnor (1), Sitapur (10), Prayagraj (3), Mathura (4), Badaun (2), Rampur (6), Muzaffarnagar (5), Amroha (7), Bhadohi (1), Kasganj (3), Etawah (1) and Varanasi (9).