LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a sudden spurt in the number of coronavirus-infected people with the new cases standing above 200 for the last two days – 203 on Saturday and 208 on Sunday.
The fresh surge in the number of COIVD-19 cases comes following the migrant influx to the state which has so far received 16.5 lakh workers since March 1. Of those, around 7 lakh workers have come back by Shramik special trains since May 4.
As per sources, of those who have returned to the state, over 400 migrants have been manifesting symptoms of Covid-19. The state health authorities claimed that all the migrants are being tested and accordingly sent to quarantine centres. As per an estimate, the state health department, with the help of gram nigrani samitis and nagar nigrani samitis and Aganbadi workers, has so far tested over 3.50 lakh workers.
Explaining the procedure to screen the migrants, Principal Secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad, said that the migrants were first taken to shelter homes where they undergo thermal screening. The authorities then conduct rapid testing and send their samples for pool testing. If a single case is found positive in a pool, all the group members are tested individually.
The labourers who do not display any symptoms are then sent to home quarantine for 21 days. Village and mohalla committees are tasked with monitoring those workers and ensuring that they complete the quarantine period following the protocol.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh reported 208 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the state tally to 4,464, Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, Joint Director/State Surveillance Officer, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) said in a statement.
This is one of the highest number of Covid-19 cases reported in a single day in the state. Of the 208 fresh cases reported on Sunday, the highest 17 were reported from Pratapgarh, 11 from Hapur, 10 each from Gautam Buddh Nagar and Lakhimpur Khiri, 9 from Ghaziabad, 8 each from Meerut, Lucknow, Rampur, Siddharthanagar, Bahraich, Ghazipur, Sitapur and Pilibhit.
The state also recorded eight more deaths due to Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the toll to 112. Of the eight deaths reported on Sunday, five were reported from Aligarh, two in Kanpur in one in Meerut.
The number of Covid-19 patients discharged in the state now stands at 2,636, while the count of active cases in the state is 1,716.