Two hospitals in Lucknow, King George’s Medical University and Balrampur Hospitals (in addition to an existing six institutions), are to be converted into dedicated COVID-19 hospitals within the next 24 hours, so that 4,000 beds can be created to cater to the rising number of cases in the city. A new COVID-19 hospital of 1,000 beds is also to be set up in mission mode at Vrindavan Township, the venue of the Defence Expo, 2020.
The state has seen a lightning surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. The Thursday evening bulletin on the COVID-19 status put the total number of new cases at 22,439, with Lucknow leading the list with 5,183 cases. The state currently has more than 1.2 lakh active cases.
In a meeting with state, division and district-level officials, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that all rural and urban areas will be under a Sunday lockdown with only cleanliness, sanitisation and emergency services being operational.
A first-time fine for not wearing masks has been set at Rs 1,000, while a second mistake will draw a fine of ‘more than twice’ that amount.
Outdoor patient services at government hospitals are to remain suspended. The Arogya Melas shall also be suspended till May 15 as the crowds could be a potential source of infection. It is noteworthy that the state is currently also conducting its four-phase panchayat elections in which more than 3.4 lakh candidates are in the fray. There had been some rumours that these elections could be pushed back in view of the pandemic situation. However, on Friday, the second phase of polling took place and recorded more than 50 per cent turnout by the time of the filing of this report.
Adityanath in his meeting said that strict action should be taken against anyone trying to create mischief during the polls as this would ‘serve as an example’ for the other phases.
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While the state has been conducting close to 2 lakh tests a day, Adityanath has asked this capacity to be further bolstered. All those coming into the state by planes, buses and trains are to be administered rapid antigen tests.
Adityanath emphasised that there was no paucity of funds for managing the pandemic and that UP’s manner of controlling the number of infections and deaths had been praised widely.
