COVID-19 | Uttar Pradesh govt. to seal more hotspots

The number of positive cases touches 410 across 40 districts

Health workers attending to people arriving for COVID-19 tests at a hospital in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.

After sealing over 100 hotspots in 15 districts most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak till April 14, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday asked officials to enforce similar measures in other districts as well even if they reported just one positive case.

Meanwhile, the number of positive cases in Uttar Pradesh reached 410 across 40 districts, said Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Health Secretary.

 

Also read: Coronavirus | Over 400 quarantined at Muzaffarnagar village after woman tests positive for COVID-19

 

In a video conference meeting with district and health officials, Mr. Adityanath said hotspots should be sealed in all those districts that report positive cases. He expressed concern saying the virus had spread to 40 out of the 75 districts in just a month.

“Even if a single case is found in a district, identify the hotspot and seal the areas around it through barricades,” Mr. Adityanath said.

 

 

While all movement within these areas would be prohibited, only medical and sanitation teams, along with those ensuring door-step delivery of essential items like milk, vegetables and other food will be allowed to operate.

No laxity

Mr. Adityanath directed officials to strictly enforce the total lockdown in the affected areas and warned them against laxity.

Pointing out that some districts were yet to conduct tests or collect samples, he asked officials to open sampling centres in all districts.

In the 35 districts that have not reported any positive cases, Mr. Adityanath asked officials to test migrants and foreigners who have arrived over the past month. If those under home quarantine were suspected of COVID-19, they should be shifted to institutional quarantine, he said.

Uttar Pradesh has so far sent 7,451 samples for testing and has put 5,734 persons under quarantine facility, while 63,855 persons are under observation, as per government data.

On Wednesday, Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said the “affected areas” in 15 districts, which had reported six or more positive cases, should be “completely sealed” to make the lockdown secure.

The district-wise hotspots to be sealed are — Agra (22 hotspots), Ghaziabad (13), Noida (12), Kanpur (12), Shamli (3), Meerut (7) including some rural areas, Varanasi (4), Bareilly (1), Bulandshahr (3), Basti (3), Firozabad (3), Saharanpur (4), Maharajganj (4), Lucknow (12) including 8 major ones, and Sitapur (1).