CM Yogi Adityanath orders for microplan as cases surge in west UP districts

LUCKNOW: Alarmed over the rising number of Covid-19 cases in west UP districts, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday announced formulation of a detailed district-specific plan to handle the situation.

Data suggests that while Covid-19 cases in most parts of the state went up by about 78% between June 1 and June 17, active infections in some districts recorded an average jump of 171%. These districts are Agra, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Firozabad, Moradabad, Aligarh and Bulandshahr is west UP and Kanpur, Jhansi and Basti in the remaining parts of the state.
Additional chief secretary, home and information, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said, “The chief minister has directed to formulate a solid action plan for west UP districts like Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida, Hapur, Bulandshahr etc., in view of rising coronavirus cases. The CM has emphasized on maintaining a constant vigil on cities which fall in the National Capital Region (NCR).”
“Expressing concern over the source of infection in these districts, the CM has asked the chief secretary and the principal secretary (health) to review health services in Meerut division and ensure that additional medical employees are deployed as and when required. They were also asked to double the bed capacity in hospitals in Meerut division,” Awasthi said.
He said the state was passing through the fourth surge of pandemic. “The initial patients were people travelling to UP but the first surge came in the form of Tablighi Jamat attendees. It was followed by hospitals and health workers while migrant workers brought the third spike. The present leap is coming from western districts,” he added.
According to officials, a plan would be drawn on the basis of the feedback from nodal teams sent to these districts which were selected on the basis of high number of active infections.
Gautam Budh Nagar leads the state’s Covid tally as of now with active infections surging from 194 to 585 in two weeks.
Likewise, Bulandshahr has recorded a spike of over 475% in active infections. Against 40 active cases on June 1, the district is now home to 230 active cases.
Health teams are studying the situation in Hapur as well because the number of active infections in the district have gone up by 92% in the last fortnight.
Officials are also keeping in view the number of Covid-19 deaths in these districts. Together they account for over 67% of total deaths in the state.
“Teams deputed by the CM have been asked to study in detail the reasons for the quantum jump in the number of cases,” a senior officer said.
The teams have also been asked to look into the deaths being reported in these cities. “Meerut, for instance, tops the list with 77 Covid deaths. Half of these deaths have occurred in the last fortnight. Therefore, the team has been asked to study the gaps in patient care infrastructure with specific reference to oxygen supply services and adherence to treatment protocol,” the officer said.
The teams have been directed to assess possible delays at every level like delay in recognizing early symptoms, delay in reaching hospital or admission/extension of medical care, and co-morbidities.
“Findings of these teams would serve as the blueprint for the plan which will be finalized as per the CM’s instruction,” a senior health officer said.
The surge of cases in western districts was also discussed during the ‘unlock review meeting’ held later in the evening.