UP says no need for lockdown, lists steps taken to tackle rising Covid-19 cases

Data showed on Monday Uttar Pradesh recorded 28,287 Covid-19 cases and deaths rose by 167, in the highest daily rise so far.

The Uttar Pradesh government has said lockdown will not be imposed in the state even as Allahabad High Court directed it to shut down the capital city of Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur till April 26 amid the rising cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday also interacted with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday and asked about the pandemic situation and the efforts his government has taken to control the coronavirus infection. "The state government is working with full commitment to control coronavirus infections and a strategy is being worked on for extensive testing, tracking and tracking of continuous supply of oxygen along with the availability of ICU beds for prevention of Covid-19," Adityanath said in an official statement, according to news agency ANI.

Among the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh government to tackle the coronavirus crisis, Yogi Adityanath said supply of Remdesivir and oxygen is being ramped up. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Before that chief minister's office (CMO) said there will not be any lockdown in the state, which is recording a big spike in daily cases of Covid-19. "There is no need to impose a complete lockdown. Weekend lockdowns will continue to curb the spread of Covid-19," CMO said. Navneet Sehgal, additional chief secretary (information), also said that the state government will not impose a complete lockdown in the cities but put in strict restrictions. "The UP government is submitting its reply before the court on its observations," Sehgal said, according to ANI.

Among the steps taken by the Uttar Pradesh government to tackle the coronavirus crisis, Adityanath said a new consignment of 20,000-30,000 Remdesivir vials reached the state on Monday. "A new consignment of Remedisvir will be received within the next three days. Except for special circumstances, total oxygen produced by all industrial units should be used for medical purposes only," the CMO said quoting chief minister Adityanath.

The chief minister said three new oxygen plants will also be set up at different places in the state each week. "With DRDO's help, a new oxygen plant with a capacity of 220 cylinders will be installed and made operational in the next 2-3 days. The government of India has allocated 750 MT oxygen," he said. He also said before any medical college is recognized in the state, it should be ensured that the respective college has its own oxygen plant. "Dedicated Covid hospital with capacity of 225 beds has been operationalized at Lucknow's Balrampur Hospital. 700 more beds will be added. KGMU, RML, Era, Hind, Integral and Mayo Medical Colleges to be run as dedicated COVID hospitals," he said.

Fifty per cent of 108 ambulances will be dedicated for Covid-19 patients and rapid testing will begin at airports, bus and railway stations of inter-state passengers, he added. The Prime Minister was also informed that 104 private laboratories, 125 public sector laboratories are conducting Covid-19 test and that on April 18, private laboratories nearly conducted more than 19,000 RT-PCR tests. "Instructions have been given to all district collectors to try to increase the RTPCR testing capacity of private laboratories in their district and make full use of this capacity in addition. District administrations send samples collected by government institutions to private laboratories for RTPCR test at the rate of ₹500 per sample," he informed.

"Some selfish elements are trying to spread the rumour that private laboratories are not conducting Covid-19 tests. Contrary to this, so far about 17 lakh Covid-19 tests have been conducted in private laboratories including more than 884,000 RT-PCR tests," he added.

Data showed on Monday Uttar Pradesh recorded 28,287 Covid-19 cases, which have pushed the tally of infection in the state to 879,831, and deaths rose by 167, the highest daily rise so far, to reach 9997. A health bulletin said the number of recoveries has increased with over 10,978 patients discharged in a day and that 661,311 people have recuperated so far from the disease in the state, which has 208,523 active cases.