Uttar Pradesh records less than 500 new Covid-19 cases for first time since second wave

Uttar Pradesh recorded 468 new Covid-19 cases, while active cases have slumped to 8986, the state government said in an official release.

The Uttar Pradesh government said on Sunday that the state recorded less than 500 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) for the first time since the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country, crediting chief minister Yogi Adityanath with an effective handling of the deadly second wave.

A health worker conducts Covid-19 testing at Ram Manohar Lohiya Hospital in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow (PTI).

“Uttar Pradesh recorded 468 fresh Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily count in over two-and-a-half months, also marking a steep decline in the number of active Covid-19 cases, as the figure has dropped from a high of 310,783 in April to 8986 now, a remarkable reduction by 97.10%,” the state government noted in an official release.

The government further said that by implementing measures such as the intensive “Trace, Test and Treat,” prevention through vaccination, and partial corona curfews, it adopted a multipurpose approach to minimise the impact of the second wave. This, it said, resulted in the positivity rate slumping to 0.1%. “Uttar Pradesh’s positivity rate has been registering a steady decline for several days, which is a sign that the deadly second wave is receding in the state,” the government said.

On Covid-19 testing, the Uttar Pradesh government said that the ramping up of daily tests helped it in fighting against the virus, adding that the state is conducting more than 300,000 tests for the coronavirus each day. With 53,345,463 samples tested thus far, of which more than 26 million samples were from rural areas, Uttar Pradesh is the first state to cross the milestone of 50 million tests for Covid-19, it said.

The release also noted that 25 oxygen plants were already functional even before the Yogi Adityanath government took steps to construct more such plants on war-footing to ensure the availability of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) for possible future needs. Elaborating with statistics, it said that 87 out of 427 plants have already been established, and are functional, while the work on the rest is going on.

The installation work will be monitored real-time, and district administrations have been directed to continuously monitor its progress. Officials have also been directed to ensure the availability of raw material so that the work is completed on time.