Adityanath reviews COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday stressed on the need to understand the "chemistry of corona while administering its treatment".

The chief minister chaired a high-level meeting of UP government officials at his residence here to review the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak in the state.

"The need is to understand the chemistry of corona, while administering its treatment," he said. Asserting that increasing the immunity level of the body can prevent the infection, Adityanath said the 'Aayush Kavach COVID' app launched by the state government has a host of information on ayurveda, which can be adopted by people to boost their immunity.

He added that the application should be widely publicised and people encouraged to download it. The UP chief minister also stressed on working on all possibilities for revenue generation, and directed officials to prepare a plan to identify alternate sources of revenue.

He said an elaborate work plan should be formulated to make employment available to migrant labourers, and women self-help groups should be trained on a large scale. The members of these self-help groups should be trained in making garments and sweaters, he added. "Foodgrains have been made available to 18 crore people in three phases. This is a big job. The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients is 42 per cent, as compared to the national average of 29.2 per cent," Adityanath said.

The chief minister also stated that provisions have been made for 53,400 beds to enhance the capacity of the COVID hospitals in the state. He also claimed that UP tops the tally in terms of pool testing.

The chief minister directed that a special campaign should be run for effective prevention of malaria, dengue and other diseases, a statement issued by the state government said. Adityanath also directed that cow shelters should be linked to income generation and manure should be made from cow dung.

He added that the work of geo-tagging the quarantine centres in the state should be accelerated. "People returning from foreign countries should be screened and given medical treatment as per need," Adityanath said, and asked senior officials to personally monitor the lockdown and ensure its strict adherence.