Nine new COVID-19 patients in Gautam Buddh Nagar; cases cross 300-mark

Nine more people, including two employees of a Chinese phone manufacturing firm, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday, as COVID-19 cases in the district crossed the 300-mark, officials said.

Also, two patients were discharged after they recovered from the disease, taking the number of active cases in the district to 88, the officials said.

District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said 45 test results were obtained from the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and 21 from the National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) on Thursday, while others were from private labs.

One result from the GIMS and two from NIB were found positive, while six from private laboratories were also found positive," he said.

The senior doctor said five employees of phone-maker Oppo have tested positive for coronavirus and two of them are residents of Gautam Buddh Nagar, while one is from nearby Mathura district and two hail from Bihar.

The locals have been counted among the new patients in the district, he added.

Nine people including two employees of Oppo have tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and total positive cases till date stand at 302. Two were discharged and total 209 patients have been cured so far. There are 88 active cases now, the officer said in a statement.

Among the new patients, four are from Noida, three from Greater Noida and two from Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, according to the statement.

There was no official response from Oppo immediately on the matter.

Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi, in western UP has so far recorded five COVID-19-linked deaths all males aged above 60, according to officials.

A 71-year-old Bulandshahr resident also succumbed due to COVID-19, pneumonia and severe sepsis at a government hospital in Greater Noida on Wednesday but his death was not counted in the district, the officials said.