5 labs for coronavirus testing in UP: CM Yogi Adityanath

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Five laboratories have been set up in the state with the help of Central government for the testing of coronavirus, said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Saturday.

"With assistance from the central government, we have set up five laboratories to provide the facility of sample checking of coronavirus cases in the state. King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow, Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, Gorakhpur, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and one in Aligarh," said Adityanath.

"A total of 11 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the State. Out of these, seven are from Agra, two from Ghaziabad and one from Noida and Lucknow.10 patients are admitted in Delhi's Safdarjung hospital and one is admitted in Lucknow's KGMU," he added.

Commenting upon the preparedness of the State government with respect to COVID-19, Adityanath said: "There is no need to panic. We have issued an advisory and have asked people to take necessary precautions. A total of 1268 isolation beds are available in private and government hospitals across the state. Today, I visited Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) district hospital here and checked the facilities available in isolation wards of the hospital. We are taking all the necessary actions to deal with it."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday ordered all schools, colleges, technical and vocational education institutes to remain closed till March 22.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India rose to 83, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.

So far, two deaths due to the lethal infection have been reported in the country.

The coronavirus, which originated in China's Wuhan city in December last year, has so far spread to more than 100 countries, infecting over 1,20,000 people.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared coronavirus a pandemic and Europe as its epicentre with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China.