Health dept plans to step up testing in hills
DEHRADUN: With over 60 cases reported from the hilly district of Tehri Garhwal district in a week’s time, officials are now planning to focus on testing in hilly regions in the state.
Amit Singh Negi, secretary for health in the state has asked officials to increase testing in the hilly districts, especially for those returning from red zones.
“Testing should be increased in the hill districts as much as possible. Booth facility can also be developed for this and cooperation of private hospitals should be taken,” said Negi.
He asked officials to hire outsource personnel to increase manpower in the health department but ensure that all possible facilities are provided to those being quarantined.
The secretary while reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the state with senior officers said that there is no shortage of funds in the state and all necessary facilities and arrangements should be ensured in the quarantine facility. “The people who are made to stay at the quarantine facilities should be made to feel comfortable. Cleanliness should also be taken care of. COVID-19 care centres are very important and officials should try to have more space available there,” said the secretary.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, 24 fresh cases were reported by the state health department including cases from districts like Dehradun (6), Haridwar (8) and Tehri (10) which were reported around midnight of May 27, taking the tally of total cases to 493.
Most of these patients had a travel history from Maharashtra. Three patients reported from Dehradun district were vendors from Niranjanpur Mandi, one of the biggest vegetable markets in Uttarakhand.
The rate of doubling stands at 3.99 days in Uttarakhand for the last seven days
Uttarakhand has reported 493 COVID-19 positive cases till Thursday evening. The doubling rate in the state stands at 3.99 days for the last seven days, while the rate of infection stands at 2.49%. So far Uttarakhand has tested over 25380 samples, of which over 19,702 have tested negative.