Coronavirus cases rise to 234 in UP, 94 linked to Tablighi Jamaat

With 60 more people confirmed positive for the coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the total number of cases climbed to 234 in the state, officials said.

Of the total cases, at least 94 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, they said.

As many as 21 cases have fully recovered while others are undergoing treatment at various hospitals, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said.

The state's count on Friday was 174 and two people -- one each in Basti and Meerut -- have died.

There has been a steep rise in the cases in the past two days, primarily because of a number of those linked to the Tablighi Jamaat testing positive, Prasad said.

According to an official bulletin, the total cases testing positive in the state has reached234, with 60 fresh cases being reported on Saturday.

The number of districts of the state affected by the virus has also gone up to 28, as per the bulletin said.

Cases were reported from Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautambudh Nagar, Varanasi, Shamli, Baghpat, Ghazipur, Pratapgarh, Saharanpur, Banda, Maharajganj, Hathras and Mirzapur on Saturday.

The overall district-wise tally since the coronavirus crisis began is Gautam Buddh Nagar (58), Agra (44), Meerut (25), Ghaziabad (14), Saharanpur (13), Lucknow (10) , Kanpur (7), Bareilly, Shamli and Maharajganj (6 each), Basti, Varanasi (5 each), Firozabad and Hathras (4 each ), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ghazipur , Bulandshahr, Pratapgarh (3 each), Pilibhit, Mirzapur, Baghpat (2 each), Shahjahanpur Hardoi, Hapur, Moradabad, Lakhimpur Kheri and Banda (1 each).

An aggressive campaign has been undertaken and those showing symptoms are quarantined and their samples sent for testing, Prasad said.

The numbers are rising because of an aggressive strategy that has been adopted by the state for containment of the spread of the virus, he said, adding a total of 57,963 people who have come from abroad to the state were taken into surveillance, out of which 41,506 have completed 28-day quarantine period.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said a total of 1,281 people associated with the Jamaat have been identified, of which 977 have been quarantined.

Besides, 306 foreigners have been identified in the state and 36 FIRs have been registered under the Foreigners Act, he said, adding that 228 passports have been seized.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold a video conference with religious leaders of different districts on Sunday, Awasthi said.

The chief minister has directed that places which have been identified as hotspots, the district magistrates should launch all out efforts to minimise the load of infection to ensure that the disease is controlled.

Fire brigade teams who have been involved in sanitisation work have started working in Lucknow and all the districts having fire brigade vehicles should use them, Awasthi added.