COVID-19 cases increase to 61 in UP

The number of coronavirus cases increased to 61 in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday after 11 people tested positive for the disease, a senior health official said.

"Cases of infection have come from 13 of the 75 districts of the state (till now)," Principal Secretary Medical Education and Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters.

In a statement, State Surveillance Officer for the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme Vikasendu Agrawal said 11 new patients have been confirmed as positive for COVID-19.

"These are: nine at Noida, one at Varanasi and one at Meerut," he said, adding that the total number of samples found positive are 61 now.

There are 27 positive cases in Noida, 10 in Agra, five in Ghaziabad, eight in Lucknow, two each in Varanasi and Philbhit, and and one each at Lakhimpur Kheri, Moradabad, Kanpur, Jaunpur, Shamli, Baghpat and Meerut, he said.

"Fourteen patients (seven in Agra, two in Ghaziabad, four in Noida and one in Lucknow) have been declared recovered and discharged," Agarwal said.

Principal Secretary Prasad said, "Eight laboratories are working to test COVID-19. Of this, three are in Lucknow, while one each has been set up in Aligarh, Varanasi, Meerut, Etawah and Gorakhpur."
The principal secretary informed, "For treatment of COVID-19, one community health centre will be made a dedicated COVID hospital after transferring the patients of the said community health centre and others. Training of the staff, which will be posted in this hospital is going on."