LUCKNOW: With over 50 per cent recovery rate, the number of COIVD-19 patients recovered has surpassed the number of active cases in Uttar Pradesh. The state is believed to have the highest recovery rate among the top 10 most infected states in the country.
Even as the total number of inflictions has breached the 3900 mark in the state, it has the distinction of having discharged 2072 patients after recovery from hospitals while the number of active cases remains at 1742.
Meanwhile, with the huge influx of migrants, the state government has upped the surveillance. So far, the state has received around 13.5 lakh migrant labourers during the lockdown. The state has also joined the ICMR study to ascertain if the spread has been into community or not. Two UP districts - Lucknow and Agra - have been chosen for the purpose.
While Agra has the highest recovered patients at 394, the district also has the highest mortality with 24 deaths of the total 785 cases. State capital Lucknow has been surpassed by Kanpur in terms of total cases. While Kanpur has 312 COVID-19 patients, Lucknow stands at number four with 271 positive
cases. Meerut stands at number three position with 286 cases. However, the recovery is higher and mortality rate is lower in Lucknow.
However, Lucknow has the highest recovery rate in the state with 211 of 271 patients having gone home after recovery. Currently, only 59 active cases exist in Lucknow. The mortality rate is comparatively lower in the state capital with just one death so far. On the contrary, in Kanpur, 170 of 312 positive cases have been discharged after recovery while the district has registered a total of six deaths.
Similarly, in Meerut, only 81 of the 286 patients have been discharged so far and 15 deaths have been recorded due to the infliction.
However, all 75 districts of the state have now come under the grip of coronavirus. The infliction spread across the state and the deadly virus made inroads into newer districts after lakhs of migrants were brought back from different corners of the country. So far, UP has received 3,84, 260 migrants brought by 318 trains. The state government has given permission to 174 more trains to bring back at least 2 lakh more migrants.
The state has ramped up the testing of samples to around 6000 a day and plans to ramp it up to 10000 per day in the near future. To date, a total of 1,53,149, samples have been tested in Uttar Pradesh.
Among other districts that have so far reported highest recoveries are Gautam Buddh Nagar – 159 of the 249 cases and three deaths; Firozabad – 119 of 194 positive cases with four deaths and Saharanpur – 159 of the 208 cases and no death.
Uttar Pradesh now has a recovery rate of over 51 per cent which is higher than most of the top 10 most infected states in the country.
However, with the influx of migrant workers, the state government has upped the surveillance. Consequently, an ICMR study has begun in Lucknow and Agra to find out whether the Sars-Cov-2 virus is spreading beyond the contact list of infected patients to other people, especially those who are asymptomatic.
As part of an ICMR project, the KGMU is undertaking the study in Lucknow while the SNMC Hospital is doing the same in Agra, which has seen the maximum Covid-19 cases (785 ) in UP so far.
For this purpose, random testing of asymptomatic people in hotspots has begun. The health department is identifying the cases and KGMU microbiology lab is testing samples. Lucknow has 11 hotspots and Agra around 45 from where the samples are being collected.
The health department will identify people who are asymptomatic and are not on any positive patient’s contact list. Their samples will be tested and the trend of such cases (in case samples test positive) will be analyzed by experts. The exercise would facilitate the experts to study if the transmission has spread in the community or not. In Agra, of 45 hotspots, 25 have been chosen for the ICMR project.
Each team in Agra comprises a cop so that there is no problem in collection of samples. The ICMR has selected 75 districts in the country for the study, and in each district, one of the ICMR approved labs will conduct the study.