LUCKNOW: The hourly average of new cases in UP touched a new high with 27,426 new cases in the past 24 hours.
With this, the hourly average rose to 1144.7 which is over 22 times higher than what it was a fortnight ago. On March 31, the hourly average was 51.25 and the total number of cases reported that day was 1,230.
The havoc of the second wave took UP’s official tally to 7.93 lakhs and the number of active cases to 150,676. The numbers while on one hand explain the magnanimity of the problem; they also speak of the immense pressure on the health system.
Additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said that about 79,000 of the active cases were in home isolation while others were undergoing treatment at a government or private facility.
A look at the bulletin revealed that Lucknow alone accounted for 24% of the new cases. Varanasi (2,344), Prayagraj (1,758), Kanpur Nagar (1,403) and Gorakhpur (846) were the other big contributors accounting for 23.1% cases.
In this way, 47% of the cases were reported from just five cities. Spikes were recorded left, right and centre in the state. In Bundelkhand, Jhansi saw 653 cases, Ghaziabad (595), Meerut (581), Gautam Budh Nagar (497) recorded a surge in the west. Likewise, Sonbhadra (477) represented the east.
The pandemic virus took the toll of more than 100 persons for the second consecutive day. Lucknow, where 35 deaths were recorded, saw loss of three lives almost every three hours. Kanpur (7), Balia (5) and Varanasi (5) were the other big contributors. The total casualties so far reached 9,583.
The recovery remained way slower than the speed with which new cases are being reported. Just 6,429 persons defeated the infection in the past 24 hours. However, the total number of persons recovered reached 6,33,461.
ACS Prasad urged people to stay indoors and not venture into congregations as one may not be aware of his/ her disease status. “A good number of people are asymptomatic and may not be aware of their disease situation. As a result of this ignorance, they may inadvertently pass on the infection to someone else,” he said adding that restrictions have been imposed by the government on congregations because of this reason.
“In addition to this, the government has suspended swasthya melas, which are held every Sunday, till at least May 16,” he added.