90% of new cases in GB Nagar are from urban areas
NOIDA Health department officials in Gautam Budh Nagar are trying to assess why the district has been consistently contributing over 50% of the state’s total fresh cases. On Monday, officials from the health department and district administration held a meeting and finalised measures to control the spread of Covid-19.
On Monday, 115 fresh cases were reported across UP, of which 65 were from Gautam Budh Nagar alone. The district reported 56.5% of the state’s total fresh cases and the active caseload stands at 332 as on Monday. Meanwhile, neighbouring Ghaziabad district contributes 17% of the state’s total cases. It reported 20 fresh cases.
Officials say that availability of more testing laboratories in Noida could be a reason for the comparatively higher number of cases. “There are more private labs available in Noida that offer quick results and home collection of samples compared to other cities. This access to labs is beneficial to the people and is also a major reason why more cases are being reported on a daily basis. People should not panic and the infections have been largely mild,” said Suhas LY, Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate.
According to the health department, 90% of the 443 cases reported in April have been from urban areas of Noida and Greater Noida and there have been no cases reported from Jewar and Dankaur areas yet. Meanwhile, cases in children are also on the rise. Of the 65 new cases reported on Monday, 19 were children. So far in April, 110 children have been infected with the virus across the district. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, more than 10,000 people under 20 years of age have been infected with the virus, while the total cases stand at 99,043.
The district health department in Ghaziabad advised schools to follow all Covid-19 protocols and also instructed them to set up helpdesks in order to screen students and staff. Officials said that they are also collecting samples for genome-sequencing. “We are taking samples from all Covid-19 positive patients for genome-sequencing. The schools have been advised to screen students and staff at the entry gate and report to us if any suspected case gets noticed. We will immediately get them tested with RT-PCR. Further, the schools have also been advised to put up Covid-19 helpdesks,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.