UP Covid-19 Tally Crosses 1.67 Lakh with 5,156 Fresh Infections, Death Toll Rises to Over 2,600

Uttar Pradesh reported a massive hike of 5,156 cases in the last 24 hours on Wednesday, including that of a state minister, taking the tally to 1,67,510 in the state. A total of 53 fresh deaths due to Covid-19 were also reported during this period, taking the number of fatalities to 2,638.

According to the official data released the state Health Department, a total of 1,15,227 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals while there were 49,645 active cases in the state including the 24,127 patients who are presently under home isolation.

Speaking at the press briefing in Lucknow, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Amit Mohan Prasad informed that the state has tested over 40 lakh samples so far, becoming the first in the country to cross the milestone. Of the samples tested so far, more than 1 lakh were tested in the last 24 hours itself.

The official also said that the state's case fatality rate (CFR) has come down to 1.57 per cent, which is below the national percentage of 1.97, and the state's recovery rate is presently at 68.78%.

Of the fresh cases, maximum were reported from Lucknow (767), Kanpur Nagar (414), Gorakhpur (353), Prayagraj (234) and Varanasi (140) among others. These five cities, in total, reported around 37% of the fresh Covid-19 outbreak in the state on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that CM Yogi Adityanath, in a key meeting on Wednesday, directed officials to increase the testing further up to 1.30 lakh samples per day. The chief minister also ordered to conduct at least 75,000 antigen tests along with RT-PCR testing of 45,000 samples every day.

Adityanath directed the state Health Department to submit a report on the districts that were presently conducting less number of antigen testing and has asked to conduct at least 1,000 antigen tests in small districts and 1,500 antigen tests in big districts every day. The Principals of the state run Medical Colleges will be held responsible for deaths as the government has provided all the necessary medical equipment and funds, informed ACS (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi.