LUCKNOW: While the Uttar Pradesh government has ramped up preventive measures by intensifying screening and surveillance at borders with states amid ‘Omicron’ scare as the new variant is being detected in parts of country, a fresh set of guidelines providing for a compensation of Rs 50,000 to next of kin of each patient who died of Covid-19 in the state have been issued. The state government has also widened the scope of circumstances defining Covid-19 deaths.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued the directives to the authorities concerned to improve surveillance with a focus on airports to ensure that normalcy prevails in the state. He has also instructed the officials concerned to intensify genome sequencing of Covid samples. In pursuance of the directives, the genome sequencing of samples at Lucknow's KGMU and PGI is being carried out at a rapid pace.
Meanwhile, on Friday, nine fresh cases of COVID were detected in the state taking the total number of active cases to 93.
The facilities of genome sequencing are available in BHU, CDRI, IGIB, Ram Manohar Lohia Institute, NBRI in the state. According to Dr Ved Brat Singh, Director General, Health, screening, surveillance and investigation have been ramped up along with the scope of focused testing in the state.
Meanwhile, as per the fresh guidelines issued by the state government, the scope of what constitutes a Covid-19 death has also been widened to include patients who died within 30 days of a positive Covid test or within 30 days of them being clinically ascertained to be Covid positive, both in-facility and outside.
The guidelines also include patients who were in hospital/in-patient facility for a period of 30 days but died later, after being discharged. It also said if a death due to Covid is not indicated in the death certificate, it should not hinder the compensation process as documents such as the RT-PCR/rapid antigen test/clinical determination through investigation will be sufficient to make a successful claim.
The state’s directions came in the wake of a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, a resident of Ghaziabad, before the Supreme Court. On October 4, the court passed an order making ex-gratia payments mandatory.
According to the state control room figures, Uttar Pradesh recorded 22,911 Covid deaths till November 30. According to the state government’s submission to the Centre, the state received 3,071 applications for compensation, against the 22,898 deaths reported till November 26. It added that an amount of Rs 541.5 lakh was disbursed as ex-gratia to 1,083 families and the remaining claims were being processed.