UP records 8 more COVID-related deaths; 229 fresh cases take tally to 6,497

Eight more people have died of COVID-19 in Uttar Pradesh, taking their number to 169 as 229 fresh coronavirus cases surfaced in the state on Monday, an official of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) said. With this, the total number of confirmed cases in the state has reached 6,497, Vikasendu Agrawal, State Surveillance Officer, IDSP, said in a statement.

"Of the eight deaths, two were reported from Meerut and one each from Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Pratapgarh, Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Etawah," Agrawal said.

Among the fresh cases, 19 were reported from Rampur, 16 each from Basti and Ballia, 13 each from Varanasi and Gorakhpur, and 10 cases were reported from Firozabad, he said. So far, 3,660 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals in the state, while the count of active cases stands at 2,668, the statement said. Of the 169 deaths reported in Uttar Pradesh, Agra leads the tally with 33 fatalities, followed by 22 in Meerut, 12 in Aligarh, 11 each in Kanpur Nagar and Moradabad, and eight in Firozabad, it added.

Addressing a press briefing earlier in the day, Principal Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said pool testing of 936 samples was undertaken. "With migrants returning to the state, the positive outcome in the pool testing has increased. Overall positive outcome has also gone up. Hence, we are insisting that the migrant labourers who have come should undertake 21-day home quarantine. This will help in curbing the spread of the infection in the society," Prasad told reporters.

The principal secretary also said air travellers arriving in the state would have to stay under home-quarantine for 14 days. "On the sixth day from their arrival, one can get themselves tested, and if they are negative for COVID-19, their home-quarantine will be ended," he added.