UP to conduct random Covid tests on passengers reaching from Delhi

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has decided to conduct random Covid tests on people coming from Delhi in wake of a pandemic surge in the national capital. Talking to reporters on Sunday, chief secretary, RK Tewari said, “We will be testing people coming from Delhi via flight, bus or train. There has been a spike in cases in districts adjoining Delhi and we could also limit guests at weddings or other events.”
The move comes a day after Maharashtra government announced it was considering halting flight and train services from Delhi due to the Covid spurt in the national capital.
And to combat a possible second wave, UP government on Sunday conducted 1.75 lakh tests, clocking the highest number till date even as 2,588 fresh cases were recorded over 24 hours. With this total tests touched the 1.79 crore mark, inarguably the highest in the country.
Additional chief secretary (health) Amit Mohan Prasad said, it was time to take extra precaution because of rise in cases in Delhi and districts in National Capital Region. The highest positivity rate was recorded in districts of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Lucknow and Varanasi, he said and those with low positivity rate included Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti, Kanpur Dehat, Balrampur and Hathras.
Since its outbreak, Covid claimed 7,559 lives in the state and Prasad claimed the recovery rate hovered around 94.08% over last few days. He said, the state had 23,806 active cases, of which a maximum of 3,402 were detected in Lucknow, followed by 2171 cases in Meerut. As many as 10,902 infected people were being treated in home isolation and 2,356 people were hospitalised.
The surveillance mechanism was also being stepped up to ascertain growing number of cases and arrest its spread. He said, surveillance was being conducted in 1,61,396 localities straddling 2.92 crore households and over 14.27 crore people.
Additional chief secretary, information, Navneet Sehgal said, to boost economic activity, the state government would organise a loan fair next week for entrepreneurs and MSME units in the state. He said, almost all industrial units were now functioning and spurring state’s growth.