31 more coronavirus cases surface in UP; total count 483

Thirty-one more coronavirus cases surfaced in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, taking the count in the state to 483, a state government official said.

The state has so far reported five death--one each from Basti, Meerut, Varanasi, Agra and Bulandshahar.

In a statement, Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, Joint Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), said of the 31 cases, the maximum 12 were reported from Agra, the worst-hit district in the state with 104 cases.

Among the most affected districts, Agra is followed Gautam Buddh Nagar (64), Lucknow (32), Saharanpur (28) and Ghaziabad (27).

He added that so far 272 people who came in contact with Tablighi Jamaat tested positive for COVID-19.

"On Sunday, 18 such positive cases were reported from the state," he said.

Dr Agarwal said till date, 46 patients have recovered from the disease.

This includes 13 in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 10 in Agra, nine in Meerut, five each in Ghaziabad and Lucknow; and one each in Kanpur, Shamli, Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri, he said.

"One patient was declared recovered in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Sunday, the official added.

Earlier in the day, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters, "On Saturday, 1,640 samples were tested.

"Soon, we will cross the 2,000-mark," he said.

The official said the doctors who want to offer tele-consultation will be registered.

"Voluntary registration for doctors will be started on the Health Department's website. An advice can also be sought on helpline 18001805145 and counsellors have been engaged for this," he said.

"We are also planning to make a pool of serving and retired government doctors and start taking their services for tele-consultation in the next a couple of days," the principal secretary added.

He said it has also been decided to impart training to doctors and paramedical staff from where coronavirus cases have been reported as a doctor in Agra was found infected with the infection.

At present, there are 576 patients in isolation wards while 8,084 are in quarantine facilities, he said.