159 new COVID-19 cases detected in UP; total tally 2,487

The total number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh rose to 2,487, with 159 more people testing positive for the respiratory infection on Saturday, officials said.

Of the total cases, 1,746 are undergoing treatment and the rest have been cured of the disease, Principal Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said. The state has so far reported 43 deaths, with one on Saturday.

Coronavirus cases have so far been reported in 64 of the 75 districts in the state. Six among these 64 districts have no active case at present, he said.

According to a government release, the only death reported in the state on Saturday was from Meerut.

Of the 159 instances of the respiratory infection reported on Saturday, Agra has the maximum at 39 cases, followed by Firozabad at 13 and Saharanpur at 10, it said.

Agra has also reported the maximum number of COVID-19 deaths at 14, followed by Moradabad with seven fatalities, Meerut six, Kanpur four, Firozabad two, and Amroha, Bareilly, Basti, Bulandshahr, Lucknow, Varanasi, Aligarh, Mathura, Shravasti and Ghaziabad one each, the release stated.

Of the total cases in the state so far, 1,129 are those who attended the Markaz event in Delhi's Nizamuddin area in March and their contacts.

With the government allowing movement of stranded migrant workers to their native states amid the lockdown, Prasad said an order with details about modalities of screening procedure was issued on Friday.

"All those returning (to Uttar Pradesh) will be first screened and those found healthy will be home-quarantined for 21 days. Those showing even minor symptoms will be stopped from proceeding homewards and would be subjected to detailed testing," he said.

"If these people test positive for COVID-19, they will be sent to isolation wards in hospitals. If not, they will be stopped for seven days and then screened again, Prasad said, adding, "If the results turn negative again, they will be placed in home-quarantine for 14 days.

Since a large number of migrants will be returning to the state, arrangements of community surveillance is being made. For this, 'gram nigrani samitis' and 'mohalla nigrani samitis' are being formed in rural and urban areas respectively, the officer said.