Epidemic Act extended in Lucknow & other UP districts till June 30 due to 2nd COVID-19 wave

Alarmed by the increasing COVID numbers in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has issued directives imposing the restrictions of the Epidemic act in all parts of the territory till June 30. While the act was enforced till March 31 previously, the current orders for extension attempt to arrest the possibilities of an unchecked COVID spread. As per officials, the state is already hit by the second wave of the pandemic given the escalating cases in the past few days.

Restrictions in the state till the second COVID wave loses its grip

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Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Health, Amit Mohan Prasad mentioned that the recent announcement is propelled by expanding rate of infections and the restrictions shall continue till the second wave loses its grip." In the public interest, the state government may cancel holidays of doctors, health workers and other government and private employees engaged in the duties to deal with the situation," said the ACS. Further, the top official has also instructed all health and frontline workers to complete their inoculation process by taking the second jab, so that they can perform their duties safely.

Soaring COVID tallies & plummeting recovery rate in Uttar Pradesh

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The COVID count in Uttar Pradesh has been marked by a worrying spike, with 1,198 new COVID cases reported in the state on Wednesday. Additionally, the burgeoning number of 9,849 active cases has affected the state's recovery rate, bringing it down from 98.25% to 96%. As per the available information, COVID numbers in Uttar Pradesh have multiplied almost 12 times by the end of this month given the registered count of 81 new cases on March 1. Observing the current circumstances, the situation looks very similar to April 2020.

Amongst different regions of the state, the capital city Lucknow is emerging as a hotspot. While 364 new COVID cases were reported on Wednesday, the count of active cases stood at 3,138 in the city. Taking cognisance of the present state of affairs, micro containment zones have been created at seven major locations in Lucknow.

State Surveillance Officer Vikasendu Agarwal informed that the prime strategy of aggressive contact tracing, surveillance, isolation and treatment shall be deployed to block the spread of contamination.

State authorities amp up medical facilities fearing accelerated virus spread

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In order to augment medical facilities for dealing with the second wave, the state authorities have directed to reopen all COVID management hospitals in Uttar Pradesh in full potential. Additionally, the health officers informed that the state administration has earmarked 45 hospitals from 30 districts as specialised Covid facilities once again. It is noteworthy here that 240 hospitals in the state were denotified post a downfall in COVID cases last month.

As per records, the state now has around 25,000 beds reserved for COVID patients. While the hospitals have been asked to function at full capacity, strict protocols are to be followed to ensure the well-being of all individuals on the campus. In this direction, the KGMU has announced that unmasked people in the hospital complex shall have to bear a fine of ₹200.

The ACS remarked, "We have added 45 hospitals across the state in the list of dedicated Covid facilities. These are among the hospitals that were earlier denotified. All these hospitals are of L2 and L3 category, as we now have 128 Covid facilities and close to 25,000 reserved beds. If we have even 25 per cent hospitalisation, we are prepared for around 1 lakh active cases. If needed, the number of dedicated facilities will be further increased like last year. The hospitals will be ready to admit Covid patients even on a very short notice."