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Covid testing drive will help reduce toll, but cases may spike: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stressed that the state will win its twin battles against communicable diseases and coronavrius. The state witnesses a spurt in communicable diseases during monsoon.

coronavirus, coronavirus in up, covid 19 cases in up, up cm,Yogi Adityanath, coronavirus cases toll in up, coronavirus deaths in up, up officers appointed for worst hit disctricts, indian express news The second phase of the Special Communicable Disease Control campaign was launched in Lucknow, Wednesday.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said 100 per cent screening in the state and more coronavirus tests may shoot up the caseload but will prevent deaths due to Covid-19.

Speaking at an event to launch the second phase of the Special Communicable Disease Control campaign from Lucknow, he said coronavirus sampling of all people in six districts — Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr and Baghpat — of Meerut division has started from Wednesday. The drive will be completed in 10 days.

The chief minister further said officials will start screening the entire state for Covid-19 from July 5.

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Gautam Buddh Nagar (comprising Noida and Greater Noida), Ghaziabad and Meerut are among the worst-hit districts. According to a health bulletin issued on Wednesday, Ghaziabad had the highest number of active cases at 851 followed by Gautam Buddh Nagar’s 817. Meerut had 267 active cases. Active cases refer to total Covid cases minus recoveries and deaths. The death toll in Meerut at 87 is alarming against 22 in Gautam Buddh Nagar and 56 in Ghaziabad.

Keeping in mind the problem areas in the Meerut division, the state government on Tuesday increased the night curfew hours from 8 pm to 6 am till July 10 against the 10 pm-5 am window in other parts of the state.

Festive offer

The CM stressed that the state will win its twin battles against communicable diseases and coronavrius. The state witnesses a spurt in communicable diseases during monsoon.

“We will fight both: communicable diseases and coronavirus. Prevention is the biggest cure and protects us not only from coronvavirus but also from other diseases,” Adityanath said, adding that the daily testing capacity in the state has been increased to 25,000.

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Echoing PM Narendra Modi’s remarks on Tuesday, Adityanath said people have lowered their guard against coronavirus in the first phase of the unlockdown.

He urged officials to spread awareness about methods to prevent communicable diseases such as encephalitis, malaria, dengue, chikungunya, kala azar etc.

Of the 75 districts, at least 38 are encephalitis affected. Adityanath claimed that his government has reduced the spread of encephalitis by 60 per cent and deaths by 90 per cent.

“In 2016, more than 600 deaths took place due to encephalitis in the state and also in 2017. In 2019, the toll was reduced to 126 deaths. I hope that the way cleanliness and preventive drives were conducted in the Covid times, the deaths will reduce even further,” he said. The Special Communicable Disease Control campaign will be undertaken in all the 75 districts from July 1 to July 31.

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The Health Department is the nodal agency with the panchayati raj, rural development, education and agriculture departments working along with it. Under the campaign, preventive measures along with cleanliness drives will be carried out.

Deaths cross 700-mark

As the total number of Covid related deaths in the state breached the 700 mark to reach 718 by Wednesday, the recovery rate showed a steady improvement and rose to 69.12 per cent.

A total of 16,629 positive cases have so far been discharged. According to government data, 585 new positive cases were reported in last 24 hours, taking the total to 24,056. Of the 718 deaths, 21 were reported in the last 24 hours while the morality rate was at 2.98 per cent. The state had 6,907 active cases.

Of the 21 new deaths, three each were recorded from Meerut and Moradabad, two each from Agra and Lucknow, and one each from Kanpur Nagar, Ghaziabad, Barabanki, Bulandshahr, Prayagraj, Muzaffarnagar, Kaushambi, Ballia, Jalaun, Jhansi and Chandauli.

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In the last 24 hours, the state tested a record 26,489 samples, taking the total to more than 7.58 lakh. However, Covid tests per million remain low. The state is testing 3,235 persons per million. Close to 105 people out of one million have tested positive of the virus.

Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad on Wednesday said 4,444 Covid help desks have been set-up and more are being established at a war-footing level.

These help desks are being set-up at hospitals, police stations, courts, tehsils, development blocks and prisons. “The Home Department has set up 1,569 desks at police stations, 140 in PAC offices and 71 in jails,” said Prasad.

These desks function from 7 am to 7 pm and has infrared thermometer, pulse oximeters, masks and sanitisers.

First uploaded on: 02-07-2020 at 11:19 IST
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