Covid-19 cases drop to 12,547 in Uttar Pradesh, deaths to 281

Lucknow, one of the worst-hit districts in the state, also saw a considerable fall new cases at 617 on Saturday. Its death toll reached 2,228 with 12 more deaths. The district has a total of 12,474 active cases.

Other districts that reported a high number of fresh cases were Meerut with 879, Gorakhpur with 801, Ghaziabad with 527 and Varanasi with 476. The highest number of deaths was reported from Meerut (19), followed by Chandauli (15), Kanpur Nagar (14), Lucknow and Auraiya (12 each), and Gautam Buddh Nagar and Jhansi (10 each).

The state has a total of 1.77 lakh active cases with Meerut reporting the highest at 13,048, followed by Lucknow’s 12,474, Gorakhpur’s 7,344, Varanasi’s 7,162 and Saharanpur’s 6,296.

According to the government, as many as 4.41 core samples, including 2.63 lakh in the last 24 hours, have been tested.

Meanwhile, the UP government on Saturday appointed 59 senior nodal officers for several districts to oversee compliance of Covid protocols, ensure private hospitals do not overcharge, and monitor isolation and quarantine centres, government hospitals, and sanitisation and fogging work in villages. While bigger districts will have two officers, one officer will be deployed in smaller districts.

The state also urged concerned officials to coordinate with the advisory committees of health experts to formulate guidelines for the black fungus treatment. A rare but serious fungal infection, known as mucormycosis and colloquially as “black fungus”, is being detected relatively frequently among Covid-19 patients in some states. The disease often manifests in the skin and also affects the lungs and the brain. The government formed a 12-member Covid-19 associated mucor myocosis (CAM) management team from Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences.

The government also called for online training of the health personnel engaged in the treatment of the infection. It urged authorities to coordinate with all medical colleges, chief medical officers (CMOs) and other physicians with SGPGIMS to facilitate necessary medical training for them.

Acting on the direction of the Allahabad High Court, the state formed a three-member fact-finding team to probe the death of HC Judge V K Srivastava. Srivastava died of Covid-related complications on April 28 due. The team will be headed by Medical Education Secretary Saurabh Babu while Dr Alok Nath, professor and head of department at SGPGI’s Pulmonary Medicine Department, and Ashok Nigam, chairman of the Elders’ Committee of Awadh Bar Association, are the other two members.