UP: Till Saturday, 98 people linked to Delhi Markaz found positive; 28 districts hit

Among the fresh 60 cases, 25 are from Agra, eight from Noida, six from Maharajganj, four each from Hathras and Ghaziabad, three each from Varanasi and Shamli, two each from Ghazipur and Mirzapur, and one each from Baghpat, Pratapgarh, Saharanpur and Banda. State Surveillance Officer Vikasendu Agarwal said the eight fresh cases in Noida and one from Agra are not linked to Jamaat.

“At least 94 confirmed cases are connected to the Jamaat. Total 28 districts in the state are now affected by the virus, and most of them were added because of the Tablighi Jamaat people in the last two days. The number of people in institutional quarantine is increasing every day because we are following aggressive strategy of containment. In the last two-three days, we have seen that the infection has reached several districts and it is important that we stop it there. All those who might have come in contact with those positive are being brought the facility quarantine and are being tested. We do not want community spread,” said Principal Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad.

Earlier in the day, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that 1,302 people have been identified in the state with connection to the Tablighi Jamaat and 1,000 of them are in institutional quarantine. A total 306 of them are foreigners, and after registering 36 FIRs, passport of 228 of them have been seized.

Of the total 1,302 people, 307 are in Meerut, 242 in Varanasi, 83 in Lucknow, 115 in Agra, 148 in Bareilly, 230 in Gorakhpur, 70 in Noida, 33 in Kanpur and 51 in Prayagraj. According to Awasthi, the highest number of foreign nationals with Tablighi connection is in Meerut (169), followed Varanasi (27) and Bareilly (25).

“In last 24 hours, 1,191 people have been kept in medical quarantine, with this a total of 3,441 people are now in medical quarantine,” said Awasthi.

8 more cases in Noida

Noida remains the hotspot in the state with 58 cases, followed by 44 from Agra, 25 from Meerut, 14 from Ghazizbad, 13 from Saharanpur and 10 in Lucknow.

In addition, there are seven cases in Kanpur, six each from Shamli, Bareilly and Maharajganj, five each from Varanasi and Basti, four each from Firozabad and Hathras, three each from Jaunpur, Bulandshahr, Ghazipur, Azamgarh and Pratapgarh, two each from Pilibhit, Baghpat and Mirzapur, and one each from Mirzapur, Moradabad, Hapur, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur and Banda.

Though health officials in Noida did not elaborate of the new cases, they suspect that a majority of the fresh cases are linked to the fire safety firm in Sector 135 from where at least 25 people directly or indirectly linked to it have been found infected with the novel coronavirus.

Two more societies in Noida, meanwhile, were seal as new cases surfaced. Till date the district has tested 804 people and results of 138 people are still awaited.

Among all the confirmed cases so far, 21 patients have been declared recovered and discharged: eight each from Agra and Noida, three from Ghaziabad, and one each from Lucknow and Kanpur.

Meanwhile, in a letter written to the Medical Health and Family Welfare Department, State Revenue Department Secretary Sanjay Goel confirmed Rs 100 crore has been sanctioned to the Medical Health and Family Welfare Department for the purchase of logistics like masks, PPE kits, PCR equipment, ventilators etc.

Meanwhile, in Prayagraj, 97 students, aged between 11 and 16 years, of a madrasa have been put under quarantine after screening which including thermal tests. These students could not return to their home because of sudden announcement of the lockdown. The district administration has pasted a notice outside the madrasa located in Phoolpur area, stating that children is under quarantine and no one is allowed to enter it.