UP: Daily Covid-19 cases now breach 4,000 mark, positivity rate at 2%

Gautam Buddha Nagar logged the highest fresh cases at 721, followed by Ghaziabad’s 607, Lucknow’s 577 and Meerut’s 411. The highest number of active cases are in Gautam Buddha Nagar (2,404), Ghaziabad (1,767), Lucknow (1,718) and Meerut (1,207). The rest of the UP districts had fewer than 1,000 active cases.

The state government said UP had become the first state in the country to administer 21 crore Covid-19 vaccine shots. UP is followed by Maharashtra with 13.81 crore doses.

“In terms of percentage, over 52 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, and 89 per cent have received one dose,” a government spokesperson said.

The government claimed that despite being the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh had manged to control the spread of Covid-19 — exacerbated by the new, more transmissible Omicron variant — compared to other big states.

The spokesperson said under the stringent containment mechanism, the government had not only imposed night curfews but also has stepped up vigilance in all 75 districts and at state borders.

The government said so far, 77 lakh medical kits for adults and over 25 lakh kits for children had been distributed by surveillance committees.

Uttar Pradesh Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (UPMSCL) General Manager Dr Rajkumar said these medical kits were meant for asymptomatic and symptomatic patients.

KGMU microbiologist Dr Sheetal Verma expressed confidence that hospitals were fully prepared to ramp up health facilities at all levels of medical care.