Over 2.9 mn tests done, aiming to bring mortality rate below 1%: UP CM Yogi

UP govt has used Rs 450 crore from a dedicated fund to set up Covid-19 hospitals in every district and currently 151,000 beds are available for coronavirus patients in the state

The Uttar Pradesh government has used Rs 450 crore from a dedicated fund to set up COVID-19 hospitals in every district and currently 1,51,000 beds are available for coronavirus patients in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Saturday.

There was one testing lab two months ago but the number has risen to 32 and 29.60 lakh COVID-19 tests have been done in the state, Adityanath said.

He said his government is trying to bring the COVID-19 mortality rate below 1 per cent and asked Meerut Zone officials to work towards achieving the target, according to an official statement.

Adityanath made the remarks during a visit to Noida, where he inaugurated a COVID-19 hospital in Sector-39 and reviewed preparedness in the fight against the pandemic.

The chief minister was joined by nodal officers for COVID response from each district of Meerut Zone in a post-inauguration meeting at the hospital and instructed them to ensure treatment to infected people.

"In view of the pandemic, a provision of Rs 450 crore was made by the state government from the COVID care fund with an objective of keeping people safe from the virus and by providing timely treatment to those infected," he said.

"The government has ensured establishment of COVID hospitals in all the districts of the state where presently 1,51,000 beds are available so that the persons infected with coronavirus can be treated as per the COVID-19 protocol," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

He also reviewed the pandemic situation in the Meerut division, which comprises the six districts of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Meerut and Baghpat.

He said initially the situation in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar appeared serious but lauded the health, administration and police officials for handling it. He said the health department has been asked to come up with an L3 facility (hospital with better infrastructure for critical patients like one ventilator per 10 beds) for COVID-19 patients in Bulandshahr and Baghpat districts.

Adityanath also praised the policemen in Gautam Buddh Nagar for curbing crime and ensuring law and order during the first six months of the commissionerate system in the district. He ordered police officials to "go behind mafia and anti-social elements with freedom", ensure "transparency" in their work and make sure "no criminal is out on the roads", according to the statement.