With over 60 cases being reported from the hilly district of Tehri Garhwal in a week, Uttarakhand is now changing the focus of testing to its mountainous regions.
Amit Singh Negi, Uttarakhand’s health secretary on Thursday asked officials to increase testing in the hilly districts, especially for those returning from red zones.
“Testing should be increased in the hill districts as much as possible. Booth facilities can also be developed for this and cooperation of private hospitals should be sought for this,” said Negi.
He asked officials to hire outsourced personnel to increase manpower in the health department and ensure that all possible facilities are provided to those being quarantined.
At a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the state, the health secretary said that there is no shortage of funds in the state and all necessary facilities and arrangements should be ensured in the quarantine facilities.
According to the health department’s bulletin, there are 19,939 people in quarantine centres in the state.
“The people at the quarantine facilities should be made to feel comfortable. Cleanliness should also be taken care of. Covid-19 Care Centers are very important and officials should try to have more space available there,” Negi said.
The health department reported 24 cases on Thursday. Six of the cases were from Dehradun, eight from Haridwar and 10 from Tehri. The new cases have taken Uttarakhand’s tally to 493.
{{/usCountry}}The health department reported 24 cases on Thursday. Six of the cases were from Dehradun, eight from Haridwar and 10 from Tehri. The new cases have taken Uttarakhand’s tally to 493.
{{/usCountry}}Most of these patients had a travel history from Maharashtra. Three of those reported from Dehradun district were vendors from Niranjanpur Mandi, one of the biggest vegetable markets in Uttarakhand.
The rate of doubling stands at 3.99 days in Uttarakhand for the last seven days, while the rate of infection stands at 2.49%.