Coronavirus count crosses 100 in UP, five family members among 7 new cases

Five members of a Bareilly family are among the seven people who tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, taking the count of COVID-19 patients in the state beyond the 100-mark, officials said.

The other two new cases are from Ghaziabad and Noida, according to a statement by Dr Vikasendu Agrawal, Joint Director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

So far, 103 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state.

Gautam Buddh district, where Noida is located, tops the list with 39 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Nineteen cases were reported in Meerut, 11 in Agra, nine in Lucknow, eight in Ghaziabad, six in Bareilly, two each in Pilibhit and Varanasi, and one each in Lakhimpur-Kheri, Kanpur Nagar, Moradabad, Shamli, Jaunpur, Baghpat and Bulandshahr.

Bareilly reported a sharp spike after reports came in following the tests done on six members of the family of a youth who worked in Noida and had tested positive earlier. His wife, mother, father, brother and sister have now also tested positive, Bareilly Chief Medical Officer Vineet Shukla said.

Subhash Nagar, where the family stays, has been sealed off and a buffer zone created up to five km beyond it, the CMO said.

The health department has started screening all the people living within a kilometre of their home, he added.

Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad listed Gautam Buddh Nagar and Meerut as the two clusters which account for half of the cases in the state.

"We are entering a crucial phase at this time, he said, urging people to follow the hand-washing and social distancing protocols If we exercise alertness and precaution for the next 14 days in the state, the number of cases in the state will remain low."