Uttar Pradesh reports 4,586 fresh coronavirus infections, 61 deaths in 24 hours; total cases cross 1 lakh

Uttar Pradesh on Thursday recorded its highest daily increase in coronavirus numbers with 61 more deaths and 4,586 fresh infections. So far, 1,08,974 cases, including 1,918 fatalities, have been reported from the state. The maximum 16 deaths were reported from Jaunpur; 10 from Kanpur Nagar; five from Varanasi; four from Gorakhpur; three each from Allahabad, Bareilly and Ayodhya among others, a government statement said. The maximum 664 cases were reported from Lucknow, 447 from Kanpur Nagar and 281 from Varanasi, the statement said. It, however, kept the number of fresh cases at 4,658 fresh cases with 63 deaths in the past 24 hours. According to Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, the number of active cases in the state is now 43,654. He said 63,402 people have been discharged from hospitals after treatment. Prasad said presently, 14,206 people are in home isolation in the state while 1,282 are admitted to private hospitals and 178 in semi-paid facilities. The remaining are being treated at COVID hospitals set up by the government. On Wednesday, over 87,000 tests were done in the state. With this, over 27 lakh tests have done so far, Prasad said, adding that a network of 61,350 COVID helpdesks has been set up in the state. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked officials to take COVID-19 as a challenge and intensify the fight against it. He directed them to improve the health facilities in Kanpur, Varanasi, Jhansi, Gorakhpur and Allahabad and send a team of experts from Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) and King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow to Kanpur for guidance.