Number of coronavirus cases rises to 452 in UP; death toll 5

With one more fatality reported from Bulandshahr, the COVID-19 death toll rose to five in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, while the number of cases climbed to 452 as 19 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

A health department bulletin said one person died of COVID-19 in Bulandshahr on Saturday. With this, one death each has been reported from Basti, Meerut, Varanasi, Agra and Bulandshahr due to the dreaded virus.

Of the 19 fresh cases, four each were reported from Meerut and Agra, three each from Lucknow and Bulandshahr, two from Ghaziabad and one each from Saharanpur, Badaun and Bhadohi, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi said.

Of the new cases, eight were linked to last month's Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi, he said, adding that altogether, 254 of the cases in Uttar Pradesh had links to the religious congregation held at Nizamuddin in the national capital.

Till Friday, the coronavirus count in the state stood at 433. The virus has spread to 41 of the state's 75 districts, with Agra being the worst hit.

The district-wise tally in the state is: Agra (92), Gautam Buddh Nagar (64), Meerut (48), Lucknow (32), Ghaziabad (27),Saharanpur (21), Shamli (17), Bulandshahr, Firozabad (11 each) and Sitapur (10), the bulletin said.

The districts that have recorded cases in single digit are: Basti, Kanpur and Varanasi (nine each), Amroha (seven), Hapur, Maharajganj, Pratapgarh, Rampur and Bareilly (six each), Ghazipur, Baghpat (five each), Azamgarh, Hathras, Muzaffarnagar, Jaunpur and Lakhimpur Kheri (four each), it added.

Besides, Auraiya has reported three cases, Pilibhit, Banda, Mirzapur, Rae Bareli, Kaushambi, Mathura, Badaun and Hardoi have reported two cases each and Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Barabanki, Bijnore, Prayagraj and Bhadohi have reported a case each, the bulletin said.

The number of those recovered and discharged is 45, it added.