Covid-19 testing campaign will help reduce deaths, but UP might see rise in cases: CM Yogi Adityanath

The number of Covid-19 cases might increase in Uttar Pradesh after a campaign to test people starts from Thursday, but it will certainly help in reducing deaths, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday. He also stressed on checking the spread of vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue in the state. “From Thursday, a special campaign for medical screening for Covid-19 will be started in six districts of the Meerut division which are Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hapur and Baghpat,” the chief minister said.

In the rest 17 divisions, the campaign will be run between July 5 and July 15, he said. When every persons of the state is screened, “the figure of those affected by the coronavirus will increase but it will certainly succeed in reducing death figures,” Adityanath said. The chief minister made the announcement during an event here to launch the Dastak campaign for control of vector-borne diseases.

This campaign should be like that conducted for encephalitis eradication, Adityanath said. “In 2016 and 2017, the state witnessed more than 600 deaths due to encephalitis. But in 2018-19 their figure decreased and in 2019, it (death figure) came down to 126,” he said. “Reducing encephalitis, which has killed thousands of children in east Uttar Pradesh in the past 40 years, by 60 per cent and death caused by it by 90 per cent is an achievement. We have to make similar efforts for diseases like dengue, malaria, diarrhoea, kalazaar etc. For this a campaign is being started today in all 75 districts,” Adityanath said.

Thirty-eight districts in the state are affected by encephalitis. Urban areas face the threat of dengue and several places face the threat of malaria and chikungunya. To check their spread, inter-departmental coordination is being ensured, he said.“We, the 24 crore people of the state, will fight the coronavirus and also deal with vector-borne diseases effectively,” the chief minister added.