Scaling up preventive measures in view of the highly contagious Delta Plus variant of novel coronavirus, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that all necessary steps should be taken as per the advice of experts without delay.
Stating that any kind of carelessness could lead to catastrophe, the chief minister on Wednesday said in terms of COVID-19 cases, the situation of Uttar Pradesh was getting better day by day but this time extra vigilance and caution were needed.
For the in-depth study of the Delta Plus variant that could majorly contribute to a possible third wave of COVID-19 outbreak, the genome sequencing of samples is currently being carried out BHU in Varanasi, KGMU, RML Institute and CDRI in Lucknow, and IGIB in New Delhi for the state to formulate immediate containment measures to check spread of coronavirus.
The exercise for the identification of any new mutations will also begin at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in the state capital with genome sequencing of samples in the coming week.
In view of the possible third wave, which is feared to affect children more, the chief minister has asked officials to expedite the process of establishing PICU/NICU in every district. As of now, over 6,000 PICU beds have been set up in medical colleges of the state.
Yogi has also asked the Health department to expedite the process of setting up PICU/NICU across the state. “Top priority should be given to the establishment of PICU/NICU beds in all the districts,” he said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has urged people to adopt a proactive and multifaceted approach to nullify a possible third wave and not let the guard down by strictly following Covid appropriate behaviour which includes 100 percent usage of double masks, sanitisers, social distancing, and extensive vaccination.
With the arrival of monsoon, the state government has directed the officials to make all the necessary preparations for flood control.
Instructing officials to monitor the levels of rivers continuously, the chief minister said that at present, as many as six districts, including Lakhimpur Kheri, Gorakhpur, and Barabanki, were affected by excess rain. In this regard, the NDRF, SDRF, and disaster management teams have been kept in an active mode 24X7.
He has also asked the administration to provide all the necessary help to the affected families on an immediate basis.
To reduce the impact of floods, especially in vulnerable districts, pre-emptive measures have been taken by the Yogi government, including better management of dams.
UP records 165 cases
Uttar Pradesh recorded 165 fresh COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours while 292 patients recovered.
“With continuous efforts, the situation of the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic in UP is under control and the infection rate is at a minimum,” claimed Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal here on Wednesday.
He said at present there were 2,796 coronavirus active cases in the state out of which 1,810 were in home isolation. He said the number of people who had recovered from coronavirus infection in the state had gone up to 16,80,720 and the state's COVID-19 recovery rate had gone up to 98.5 per cent, while the positivity rate was found to be 0.06 per cent in the last 24 hours.