News Analysis India

Tag: Covid-19 cases

  • Even as Covid-19 cases surge to over 6,000, masks adherence low

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Even though India has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases and over 6,000 cases have been reported in the past two days after 200 days, a small section of people are wearing masks in the country, a survey has found.

    Of the 9,656 people surveyed in 321 districts of India, only six per cent said they were “effectively complying” with the masking norms, 90 per cent said they were not following the norms, and four per cent gave no clear response.

    Of the six per cent who were complying with masking, the largest segment – 45 per cent – indicated that they wear a mask when in crowded outdoor spaces; 35 per cent shared that they avoid going to crowded outdoor spaces like weddings, sports events, and others.

    In the survey by LocalCircles, India’s leading community social media platform, 20 per cent shared that they avoid going to crowded indoor spaces like malls, restaurants, trains, buses, etc.

    Also, 15 per cent said they have been wearing a mask in indoor spaces with people outside their immediate family.

    Though the centre has not announced any mask mandate yet, some states have taken some proactive steps. Puducherry is the only state that has made masks mandatory in public places, while Haryana made masks mandatory for gatherings of more than 100 people amid an uptick in Covid cases.

    Experts said that the mask mandate sends a strong and clear message to people that they are the best protection at the time of a surge.

    “When mask mandates are in effect, it will reduce the total number of bad outcomes from this fast-spreading respiratory virus. Two other benefits of masks include protection from influenza as well as worsening air pollution,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force.

    ALSO READ | As Covid cases surge, Health Minister asks states to ramp up tests, identify hotspots

    “Masks are one of the few effective tools we have against the pandemic,” he added.

    Speaking with TNIE, Sachin Taparia, Founder, LocalCircles, said that “the survey found that the effective mask compliance at a pan India level is at an abysmal 6%, and most don’t even have a mask with them any longer, let alone wear it,” said

    “When those who believe they are complying effectively were asked about how they were following Covid norms, only 15% said that they were wearing masks in indoor spaces when with people outside their family members, indicating a poor understanding of the risk of spread,” he added.

    Dr Preeti Kumar, Director, of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Delhi, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), said the adherence to masks is going down as people are “definitely tired.”

    But she added that as Covid-19 is still here, masks are the best way to protect people, especially senior citizens and people with co-morbidity as many of them have not taken booster shots.

    In his high-level review meeting on Covid-19 and rising Influenza cases on March 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ‘Covid-19 is far from over” and emphasised on wearing of masks on hospital premises by patients, health professionals and health workers – being followed by some states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi – which are seeing high Covid-19 cases.

    The PM had also advised that senior citizens and those with comorbidities should wear masks when they visit crowded areas.

    The current spike, triggered by XBB.1.16, which is further mutating, has led eight states to report a high number of new cases in India, with ten or more districts reporting more than 10% positivity in Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi and over five districts reporting more than 5% positivity in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana.

    NEW DELHI: Even though India has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases and over 6,000 cases have been reported in the past two days after 200 days, a small section of people are wearing masks in the country, a survey has found.

    Of the 9,656 people surveyed in 321 districts of India, only six per cent said they were “effectively complying” with the masking norms, 90 per cent said they were not following the norms, and four per cent gave no clear response.

    Of the six per cent who were complying with masking, the largest segment – 45 per cent – indicated that they wear a mask when in crowded outdoor spaces; 35 per cent shared that they avoid going to crowded outdoor spaces like weddings, sports events, and others.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In the survey by LocalCircles, India’s leading community social media platform, 20 per cent shared that they avoid going to crowded indoor spaces like malls, restaurants, trains, buses, etc.

    Also, 15 per cent said they have been wearing a mask in indoor spaces with people outside their immediate family.

    Though the centre has not announced any mask mandate yet, some states have taken some proactive steps. Puducherry is the only state that has made masks mandatory in public places, while Haryana made masks mandatory for gatherings of more than 100 people amid an uptick in Covid cases.

    Experts said that the mask mandate sends a strong and clear message to people that they are the best protection at the time of a surge.

    “When mask mandates are in effect, it will reduce the total number of bad outcomes from this fast-spreading respiratory virus. Two other benefits of masks include protection from influenza as well as worsening air pollution,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force.

    ALSO READ | As Covid cases surge, Health Minister asks states to ramp up tests, identify hotspots

    “Masks are one of the few effective tools we have against the pandemic,” he added.

    Speaking with TNIE, Sachin Taparia, Founder, LocalCircles, said that “the survey found that the effective mask compliance at a pan India level is at an abysmal 6%, and most don’t even have a mask with them any longer, let alone wear it,” said

    “When those who believe they are complying effectively were asked about how they were following Covid norms, only 15% said that they were wearing masks in indoor spaces when with people outside their family members, indicating a poor understanding of the risk of spread,” he added.

    Dr Preeti Kumar, Director, of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Delhi, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), said the adherence to masks is going down as people are “definitely tired.”

    But she added that as Covid-19 is still here, masks are the best way to protect people, especially senior citizens and people with co-morbidity as many of them have not taken booster shots.

    In his high-level review meeting on Covid-19 and rising Influenza cases on March 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ‘Covid-19 is far from over” and emphasised on wearing of masks on hospital premises by patients, health professionals and health workers – being followed by some states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi – which are seeing high Covid-19 cases.

    The PM had also advised that senior citizens and those with comorbidities should wear masks when they visit crowded areas.

    The current spike, triggered by XBB.1.16, which is further mutating, has led eight states to report a high number of new cases in India, with ten or more districts reporting more than 10% positivity in Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi and over five districts reporting more than 5% positivity in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana.

  • COVID-19: India records 1,79,723 new cases, 146 deaths

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 1,79,723 coronavirus infections taking the total tally to 3,57,07,727, including 4,033 cases of the Omicron variant reported across 27 states and union territories so far, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Monday.

    The number of active cases has increased to 7,23,619, the highest in around 204 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,83,936 with 146 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

    Of the total 4,033 cases of Omicron variant, 1,552 have recovered or migrated.

    Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 1,216 Omicron cases, followed by Rajasthan 529, Delhi 513, Karnataka 441, Kerala 333 and Gujarat 236.

    A total 1,79,723 new coronavirus infections were reported in a day, the highest in around 227 days.

    A total 1,86,364 new infections were reported on May 27 last year.

    The active cases have increased to 7,23,619, accounting for 2.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has decreased to 96.62 per cent, the ministry said.

    Active #Covid19 cases stand at 7,23,619. 4,033 #Omicron cases have been recorded. pic.twitter.com/Lc3BPcAHfD
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) January 10, 2022
    An increase of 1,33,008 cases has been recorded in the active caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 13.29 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was 7.92 per cent, according to the ministry.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,45,00,172, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.36 per cent.

    The cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive have crossed 151.94 crore.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5; and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11; 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20; and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore infections on May 4 last year and three crore on June 23.

  • Major Covid spurt in Madhya Pradesh: 594 cases in 24 hours take active cases to 1544

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Massive surge in COVID-19 cases was reported in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, with the central Indian state reporting 594 cases and one death in the last 24 hours, taking the total active cases in the state to 1544 cases.

    On the lines of the previous two waves of the killer viral ailment, the third wave too is being driven by the state’s most populated city Indore and capital city Bhopal. Indore reported a maximum 319 cases and one death in the last 24 hours. The day’s positivity rate which stood at 1.83% (137 cases) on Tuesday shot to 3.91% with 319 cases on Wednesday.  The state’s single day positivity too grew to 0.99% compared to 0.53% of the previous day.

    Prior to this single day spike of maximum 326 cases was reported in Indore during the second wave on March 20, but the day’s positivity at that time was far more higher at 7.63%.

    The state capital Bhopal was second only to Indore when it came to fresh cases, reporting 92 cases at day’s positivity of 1.58% in the last 24 hours, compared to 69 fresh cases at 1.19% in the previous 24 hours. The state’s single day positivity too grew to 0.99% compared to 0.53% of the previous day.

    The two cities, Indore and Bhopal, accounted for 69.19% of the total 594 fresh cases reported in the state in the last 24 hours.

    The other districts which reported significant spurt in cases, included 58 cases in Gwalior, 23 cases in Jabalpur, 15 in Sagar and 14 cases in Vidisha. More than 20 out of the 52 districts in the state now have active cases.

    The state now has 1544 active cases, including 820 cases in Indore and 261 cases in Bhopal, meaning that two major cities, accounted for 70% of the total active cases in the state.

    The fresh and active cases have been rising sharply since the first day of the New Year. Compared to just 407 active cases on the last day of 2021, the active cases have grown by 279% to 1544 active cases in the first five days of the New Year 2022.

    Cases growing sharply, but hospitalization need low

    Statistics available with the state government, meanwhile, showed that around nine out of ten cases being reported are being treated in home isolation, owing to mild symptoms or no symptoms. Out of the 1544 active cases in the state presently, 87.30% (1348 patients) are being treated under home isolation), while just 12.69% (196 patients) are hospitalized.

    The state government’s real time updated data on bed availability/occupancy, showed that out of the total 55,999 beds (normal isolation, reserved oxygen support and HDU/ICU beds) at government and private hospitals in the state, just 196 beds (0.25%) were occupied till Wednesday evening.

    CM reviews situation

    In the wake of rising fresh and active cases, the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed on Wednesday the situation and issued necessary directions, particularly for the major cities and the districts neighbouring Maharashtra owing to alarming spurt in the cases in the western state.

    The CM directed for no longer allowing big fairs anywhere in the state, fixed the maximum limit at weddings to 250 and 50 for funerals/uthavana. Schools will be allowed to hold offline classes maximum with 50% attendance. Night curfew will continue across the state.

    The CM, who three days back had stressed upon increasing daily COVID testing capacity to 70,000 to 75,000 daily, instructed on Wednesday to ensure at least 60,000 tests daily.

    Chouhan said that the arrangements for isolation at Motilal Nehru Stadium near Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal should remain the same as in the previous Corona waves. This arrangement should be made as a precaution, even though the effect of the infection is less. Similarly, arrangements should be made to keep patients isolated in the stadium in Indore too.

    30% target of first dose to 15-18 age group achieved in first three days only

    Making a detailed presentation about the COVID-19 situation in the state, the additional chief secretary (ACS Health) Moh Suleman said the state has already achieved 30% vaccination of the targeted 48 lakh first doses of the vaccine for the 15-18 years age group. The Chhatarpur district of Bundelkhand region is the highest achiever with 57%, followed Indore with 56%, Sehore 48% and Sagar and Harda at 44% each. So far, 14,37,274 doses have been administered to the targeted 48 lakh beneficiaries under the 15-18 years age group.  

  • Active COVID-19 cases in country lowest in 532 days

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India logged 10,488 new coronavirus infections taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,45,10,413, while the active cases declined to 1,22,714, the lowest in 532 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

    The death toll climbed to 4,65,662 with 313 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

    The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 44 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 147 consecutive days now.

    The active cases comprise 0.36 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.30 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

    A decrease of 2,154 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.98 per cent.

    It has been less than two per cent for the last 48 days.

    The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.94 per cent.

    It has been below two per cent for the last 58 days, according to the ministry.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 3,39,22,037, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.35 per cent.

    The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 116.50 crore.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

    The 313 new fatalities include 248 from Kerala and 15 from Maharashtra.

    A total of 4,65,662 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,40,722 from Maharashtra, 38,174 from Karnataka, 37,299 from Kerala, 36,361 from Tamil Nadu, 25,095 from Delhi, 22,909 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,376 from West Bengal.

    The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Remote Arunachal circle people impose self-lockdown as Covid cases rise

    By PTI
    ITANAGAR: The people of a remote administrative circle in Arunachal Pradesh have decided to impose ‘self-lockdown’ in the area for a week in view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases, an official said on Friday.

    The administration did not issue any order but the people of Yomcha circle in West Siang district themselves decided to observe lockdown from Friday to July 22, the District Information and Public Relation Officer (DIPRO), Gijum Tali, said.

    The decision was made during a meeting on Thursday in which local people and government officers participated.

    Yomcha is around 24 km from Aalo, the district headquarters, and has a population of over 2,000.

    The decision was lauded by senior officials who said that Yomcha lacks facilities to treat serious patients and evacuation too is difficult during the monsoon.

    West Siang district in the past few days recorded 112 fresh COVID-19 cases.

    It was decided that the entry and exit of any person and vehicle from or towards Yomcha shall be restricted, and all shops and other business establishments shall remain closed during the seven days, Tali said. 

  • PM asks states with rising COVID-19 cases to take proactive steps to prevent third wave

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that rising COVID-19 cases in some states remain a matter of concern as he asked them to take proactive measures to rule out a third wave by moving forward with the strategy of test, track, treat and ‘tika (vaccine)’.

    In a video interaction with chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala, where many districts have been reporting a high number of cases, Modi said the country stands at a point in its battle with the pandemic where apprehensions about a third wave are being continuously expressed.

    These states have accounted for 80 per cent of new COVID-19 cases last week and 84 per cent of deaths, he noted in his closing remarks, specifically mentioning the rise in infections in Kerala and Maharashtra as a matter of grave concern for the country.

    A similar trend was witnessed in January and February before the second wave started, he said.

    “It’s very important that states with a rising number of cases take proactive measures to rule out any possibility of a third wave,” Modi said in his remarks.

    “We have to move forward with our strategy of test, track, treat and tika,” Prime Minister Modi said, adding that special attention needs to be paid to micro-containment zones.

    Emphasising on the need to prevent crowds from gathering at public places, Modi said there is a need to be aware, alert and strict in this regard.

    To highlight the possible dangers of another wave of the pandemic, he noted that positive cases have been on the rise in Europe and the US with a fast pace, and a similar worrying trend is being witnessed in countries to the east of India like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.

    “This is a warning and big alert to the world and to us. We have to keep reminding people that the coronavirus has not gone,” Modi said, reiterating his concern about scenes of crowds at many places across the country.

    He said funds are being made available to all states for making available new intensive care unit (ICU) beds, increasing testing capacity and for all other needs.

    Recently, the central government released an emergency COVID-19 response package of more than Rs 23,000 crore, Modi pointed out.

    Noting that out of 332 PSA oxygen plants allocated to states represented in the meeting, 53 plants have been commissioned, he asked the chief ministers to expedite the completion of the plants.

    He made special mention of the need to protect children from being infected and make all possible arrangements in this regard.

    The prime minister highlighted the expert view that if cases keep on rising for a long time, then chances of mutation of the coronavirus will also increase and dangers of new variants will also rise.

    He asked the chief ministers to focus on districts with large numbers of cases.

    Modi had on Tuesday interacted with chief ministers of eight North-Eastern states, another region of concern, through video conferencing, and had said the vaccination drive needs to be continuously ramped up to deal with the pandemic.

    He had also said that it is a matter of concern that big crowds are thronging hill stations and market areas without masks and social distancing.

    Home Minister Amit Shah shared Covid figures of these states in the meeting in which the health secretary also spoke. 

  • India records  42,640 Covid cases, lowest in 91 days; active cases fall below 7 lakh after 79 days

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India recorded less than 50,000 new coronavirus infections, the lowest in 91 days, taking the total tally of cases to 2,99,77,861, while active cases fell below 7 lakh after 79 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    A total of 42,640 Covid infections were reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 3,89,302 with 1,167 daily fatalities, the lowest in 68 days.

    According to the data published at 7 am, India administered 86.16 lakh vaccine doses, the highest ever single-day vaccination achieved in the world so far, the Health Ministry said.

    Cumulatively, 28.87 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far under the nationwide inoculation drive.

    The active cases have further declined to 6,62,521, comprising 2.21 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 96.49 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    A net decline of 40,366 cases has been recorded in the caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    Also, 16,64,360 tests were conducted on Monday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 39,40,72,142, while the daily positivity rate has declined to 2.56 per cent.

    It has been less than 5 per cent for 15 consecutive days, the ministry said.

    The weekly positivity rate has declined to 3.21 per cent.

    Recoveries continued to outnumber daily new cases for 40 consecutive days.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,89,26,038, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.30 per cent, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

  • Over 4.5 cr COVID tests done, 1.5 cr people vaccinated in UP: Yogi Adityanath

    By PTI
    NOIDA: Over 4.5 crore COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Uttar Pradesh so far, while 1.5 crore people have been vaccinated for coronavirus, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday.

    The chief minister said the state did not have “much capacity” for COVID testing till March last year but is now conducting 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh tests every day.

    “On March 2, 2020, we did not have much capacity for COVID tests nor isolation beds for treatment of COVID patients in the state.

    ”With support from the Centre, the state government”s machinery along with help from various organisations, today we are conducting 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh tests every day,” Adityanath told reporters in Noida during a visit here to review the pandemic situation.

    “Over 4.5 crore COVID tests have been conducted in the state so far. The state has 80,000 hospital beds in L2 and L3 category where coronavirus positive patients can be treated,” he said.

    He said the Centre is providing vaccines for free to people above the age of 45 years while the state government is doing it for the people aged between 18 and 44 years.

    “We have so far vaccinated 1.5 crore people in the state and continue (to do so) at war-footing as per a comprehensive strategy,” Adityanath said.

    He said vaccination for people aged above 45 is being done at 2,500 centres and for the 18-plus category, the government had started the vaccination process in seven districts in the first phase where active cases and positivity rate were the highest.

    “In the second phase, we brought all municipal corporations on board and in the third phase, which starts tomorrow, we will begin vaccination at all headquarters of commissionaries. From tomorrow, vaccination will begin in 23 districts of the state,” he added.

    In the wake of suspicions being raised that the virus is spreading to rural areas, the government had implemented a comprehensive strategy for it on May 2, the chief minister said.

    “We have a monitoring team in every village. Keeping 97,000 revenue villages in focus, the monitoring teams are screening people for COVID,” he said.

    Those who are positive or show symptoms for the infection are provided medicine kit and a data is prepared of such people which is given to the Integrated COVID Control Centre (ICCC) from where rapid response team (RRT) goes to the village and conducts tests on contact persons of the patient and makes necessary arrangements for them, he added. 

  • BJP MLA files complaint against NCP’s Nawab Malik over ‘false’ statement

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar on Monday filed a complaint against Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik for allegedly spreading panic through false information.

    In a letter, the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Kandivali East said, that two days back Minister Nawab Malik has made a statement in the media that the Central government is threatening companies, producing Remdesivir injections, not to supply the injection doses to the state or their licence would be cancelled.

    “It is nothing but a statement prejudicial to national integration because the same creating rift between the Central government and State government, and is causing public mischief with an intent to create ill-will panic and hatred in classes of people,” Bhatkhalkar said.

    He further added that due to which crowd is gathering at several railway stations and the same has added to the already tense situation in Maharashtra.

    Malik on April 17 had alleged the Centre was blocking the supply of Remdesivir medicine to the state. He also questioned the Centre’s allocation of oxygen to states amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In a tweet, the NCP leader asked Union Minister Piyush Goyal to ‘set the record straight’ and asked how much oxygen was has been given to Maharashtra.

    “Mr. @PiyushGoyal ji Please enlighten us with some facts, How many metric tons of Oxygen is produced in our country and how much oxygen has the central government given to Maharashtra? Details given by you will clear all doubts and set the record straight,” Malik tweeted.

  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Talks To UP CM Yogi Adityanath Amid Rising Covid-19 Cases

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday held a discussion with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the rising tension of Covid-19 cases. As Uttar Pradesh is recording an increasing number of cases, union minister Rajnath Singh who is also keeping a close watch on the situation called UP CM and urged him to increase the healthcare facility of the state. Several parts of Uttar Pradesh including Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Allahabad, Meerut, Bareilly, Kanpur, Gaziabad have been reporting a higher load of cases.

    Rajnath Singh appealed to CM Yogi to further increase beds ventilator and oxygen facilities in the hospitals. The UP Chief Minister assured the defence minister that Balrampur hospital, Era, Shakuntala Mishra Medical College. He also gave instructions on increasing beds in King George’s Medical College and in Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. The defence minister also urged the public to follow the Covid-19 guidelines and protocols.

    On Friday the state reported 9,695 fresh Covid-19 cases and 37 deaths. In the last 24 hours, UP reported 9,695 new cases and the total stands at 48,306 active cases with 22,904 people in home isolation, 835 patients undergoing treatment in private hospitals, and the remaining patients are in government hospitals. Lucknow alone reported 2934 fresh cases with 14 deaths followed by 1,016 from Prayagraj, 845 from Varanasi, 522 from Kanpur, and 333 from Gorakhpur.