UP set to achieve target of 30,000 Covid tests per day

LUCKNOW: The state government on Sunday looked poised to achieving its new target of conducting around 30,000 Covid tests in a day as it recorded 29,117 tests in last 24 hours.
The number is significantly higher than the average of 27,569 tests being conducted in last three days.
The surge in Covid tests gains significance in the backdrop of active cases breaching 8,000-mark even as the state recorded 1,155 fresh cases and 12 deaths in last 24 hours.
Additional chief secretary, home & information, Awanish Kumar Awasthi said the maximum of over 3,500 tests were conducted by the King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
Institutes like Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have also conducted 2,148 and over 1,000 tests, respectively.
“Truenat tests alone account for 1,468 tests and the government is trying to expedite real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) tests for better results,” he said.
“The state government will soon cross 30,000 tests per day, the target set by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,” Awasthi said.
According to officials, as many as 18,761 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital.
Speaking on employment generation, Awasthi said over Rs 2,700 crore were being raised as wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) of which around Rs 2,300 crore had already been distributed. “The amount has been raised after the scheme was given preference in engaging labourers, essentially migrants who have returned to UP from other states during lockdown,” he said.
“The scheme turned out to be the biggest job spinner for migrants and the government has engaged over 60 lakh people. This is apart from over Rs 300 crore being distributed as wages by industries in the state,” he added.
Awasthi said as part of a statewide drive, the government lodged FIRs against 84,515 people for violating Covid-prevention norms.
“At least 2,17,000 people have been named in the FIRs. Around 84 lakh vehicles have been checked and 8,000 seized for violation of norms,” he added.
Awasthi said during the plantation drive on Sunday, the CM emphasised on plantation of medicinal plants which can be used for health purposes.