UP gets IIT-Kanpur to predict Covid curve; 303 more deaths

With the state again recording more than 30,000 fresh coronavirus cases and over 300 deaths, the Uttar Pradesh government has roped in experts from premier IIT-Kanpur to prepare the district-wise trajectory of the Covid curve using mathematical modelling.

The move is expected to help the state government, under fire for shortage of ICU beds and oxygen supply, finetune its Covid-19 response. According to a government statement on Saturday, 631 metric tonnes of oxygen was supplied to Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The volume was three times the daily supply before the second Covid wave. Total active cases on Sunday dropped to 3,01,833 after 38,826 more patients were declared recovered. The toll reached 12,874 with fresh 303 Covid related deaths in the past 24 hours.

Of the new 30,317 positive cases, 3,125 were reported from Lucknow; 1,514 from Kanpur Nagar; 1,497 from Varanasi; 1,470 from Gautam Buddha Nagar; 1,274 from Prayagraj; 1,236 from Meerut; 1,204 from Ghaziabad; and 1,070 from Gorakhpur. Lucknow also record the highest number of deaths at 34. Ghaziabad reported 20 deaths, followed by 17 in Kanpur Nagar, 15 in Varanasi, 14 in Jhansi and 13 in Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked officials to assess medical oxygen need of the state for the next six months and directed all government and private hospitals to establish liquid medical oxygen (LMO) plants. He said that as a long-term strategy, it should be ensured that Covid-19 positive did not suffer from lack of oxygen. Hospitals would be reimbursed the cost of setting up oxygen plants.

The statement issued by the Uttar Pradesh Information Department urged experts from various institutes, including form IITs, to explore the possibility of converting nitrogen into oxygen. “A crusher unit in Jhansi has started oxygen production. It can also be done with some technical support in sugar mills. For this, action should be taken with the help of experts,” said Adityanath.

Principal Secretary of Medical Education Alok Kumar said Covid-19 patients in hospitals were critically ill because of their “medical history”. Treatment of these patients required oxygen and ventilator management along with consultation with specialist physicians, he said.