Test suspects in 12 hours in Lucknow & Kanpur: CM Yogi Adityanath

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath told senior officials here on Wednesday evening that every 'Covid-19 suspect' in Lucknow and Kanpur should be tested within 12 hours after being identified to break the chain of virus. In a review of the covid-19 situation in Lucknow and Kanpur which added over 20% of the new cases in August, the CM said that there was room for improvement in terms of testing, contact tracing and hospital infrastructure.
Pointing at the gaps, he said: “There is a need for improving testing, contact tracing and door-to-door surveys in the two districts.” He also said that the number of beds should be increased at King George’s Medical University, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences. Besides, the local administration must work out a plan to increase the capacity of private hospitals.
“Testing is the mainstay of the fight against covid-19. Therefore, every suspect in the two districts must be tested within 12 hours. Also, there is a need for speeding up contact tracing. Officials must ensure that all primary contacts of a positive person are listed within 24 hours,” the CM told officials.
‘All hospitals must have oxygen backup of at least 48 hours’
The CM suggested that medical testing teams may accompany every doorto-door survey team to bring out the hidden cases. He directed the officials to draw a plan and implement the idea as soon as possible.
In another development the CM said that all hospitals must have oxygen back up of at least 48 hours. He also told the officials to assess the need for additional manpower to work up a plan to re-deploy available hands to ensure optimum use The CM also expressed concern over the rise in covid-19 cases in Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi, the CM directed health officials to increase testings in the three cities which are now a part of Top-5 worst hit districts. Lucknow and Kanpur are the other two.
An average increase of 38% in new cases was noted in Gorakhpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi over the past two weeks. “Asserting that testing is an important component in Covid 19 control, the CM has stressed on increasing the number of tests in Varanasi, Prayagraj and Gorakhpur,” said additional chief secretary, home and information, Awanish Awasthi. Earlier, the CM told stake-holders departments to conduct a microanalysis of the situation at Kanpur and Lucknow.
Data shows that Gorakhpur has in fact the second highest case positivity rate in UP at the moment, while Varanasi and Prayagraj are among the Top-10. Kanpur has the highest case positivity rate in the state. Health officials said testing will bring to fore hidden cases.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 tally for UP reached 2.41 lakh on Wednesday with addition of 5,716 cases in 24 hours. Of the total cases, 1.8 lakh have recovered, while 3,316 have died. The rate of recovery had increased to 75.5%.