LUCKNOW: With COVID-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh having breached the 8000 mark, lakhs of migrants who have returned to the state during four back-to-back phases of the lockdown now constitute over 27 per cent of the total tally in the state.
Around 30 lakh migrants have thronged Uttar Pradesh from March 1 till date. Not only are they being subjected to strict medical scanning for the coronavirus, but are also being sent to quarantine facilities or home quarantine for 21 days depending on their condition.
However, the cases of infliction among migrants are also on the rise in the state and the present surge in COVID-19 cases is attributed to them. As per official figures, as of now, over 2100 migrants have tested positive for COVID-19, taking the state tally to 8,105 cases with 30 fresh cases on Monday till the filing of this report. In fact, the state witnessed a record biggest spike during the last 24 hours with a whopping 378 cases on Sunday.
According to State Infectious Disease Surveillance Officer Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, so far samples of 69,000 migrants were collected for testing, of which 2,165 had tested positive till Sunday. However, the last three days have seen the figure of COVID-19 patients surging from 7000 to over 8000.
Official data shows that the spike was quite prominent in Gautam Buddh Nagar where 49 fresh cases surfaced on Sunday taking the district tally to 457. At present, there are 171 active cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar and six people have died due to the coronavirus.
The second steepest spike of 33 new cases was seen in neighbouring Ghaziabad district where the tally went up to 328. Till date, 211 people have been discharged after recovery and 113 are active cases. The district has recorded four deaths due to COVID-19.
There are 3,015 active cases in the state while 4,843 have been discharged. The COVID-19 death toll stands at 217.
However, the experts also attribute the surge in cases in Uttar Pradesh to the rise in number of tests -- over 10,000 -- on a single day. “We will take this figure to 15,000 tests per day till June 15,” said Principal Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan.
The principal secretary also claimed that the state had achieved the goal of 1 lakh beds under the three-tier medical system of L1, L2 and L3 hospitals in the state. “Our focus will be on increasing the quality of the systems so that patients could be given better medical care," said the officer.
“The work of surveillance is going on and so far, 77,68,346 houses were monitored under which 3,94,22,639 people are being monitored. We are using the Arogya Setu app and so far, we have contacted 47, 235 people from the control rooms, out of which 120 said that they are infected and being treated in various hospitals, while 52 persons have fully recovered and have been sent home," Prasad said.
He added that ASHA workers have screened 11,28,804 workers and symptoms were found in 1,027 people. Their samples are being tested and action is being taken accordingly, he added.