UP government releases fresh Covid-19 guidelines, ramps up testing
The Gautam Buddh Nagar district administration has imposed fresh restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure till April 30 in light of the rising trend of Covid-19 cases.
The Uttar Pradesh government has released a set of guidelines in the wake of rising number of coronavirus disease (Covid-9) cases. Chief secretary RK Tiwari has directed all the district magistrates to ensure testing of people who are coming from high caseload areas/states.
According to the directive issued by Tiwari, such people should undergo rapid antigen tests to know the presence of Sars-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19, Hindustan Times' sister publication Live Hindustan reported. RT-PCR and other tests have also been made mandatory for people arriving at various railway stations in Uttar Pradesh from states like Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, according to Live Hindustan.
The authorities have also been asked to conduct aggressive contact tracing of railway co-passengers of people who are found positive with Covid-19. In fact, the district administrators have been asked to put all the passengers who arrived in that particular train under surveillance, Live Hindustan reported.
The stations where long-distance trains make a halt should have 24-hour testing facilities.
The state government has also prepared a region wise calendar of areas where people have returned in large numbers. The chief secretary said that these calendars have already been given to chief medical officers, Live Hindustan reported. The frontline workers have been asked to survey those areas and submit a report to medical officers, according to Live Hindustan. The government has intensified surveillance in areas where a large number of people have arrived from other high caseload states.
Meanwhile, the police have announced strict measures for areas which have been declared as containment zones. In state capital Lucknow, the number of containment zones have reached 84 and will be placed under barricading, announced police commissioner DK Thakur. The district administration will also paste stickers on the houses of those found positive with Covid-19.
The Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration has imposed fresh restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) till April 30 in light of the rising trend of Covid-19 cases.
"This step is taken also to prevent any untoward incident during the upcoming festivals," said Ashutosh Dwivedi, Additional DCP (Law and Order), Gautam Buddha Nagar.
The Additional DCP also appealed to the public to comply with Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, wear masks, maintain social distancing.
The number of active Covid-19 cases in the state rose to 2,014 from 1,912 on Tuesday while the overall recoveries reached 5,95,150 and the death toll reached at 8,751 on Wednesday, the data from state health department showed.
