8 new COVID-19 cases in Noida, total count in Gautam Buddh Nagar 58

Eight more persons, including a woman and her two children, have tested positive for coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in the district to 58, officials said on Saturday. Four of the latest cases were from a JJ cluster in Sector 5, one from Wazidpur village in Sector 135 and three from Sector 62 in Noida, they added.

The source of the infection for at least four patients was traced back to private firm Cease Fire, which is already under the government scanner for triggering a chain of cases and has been booked for endangering people's lives, the officials said.

"A total of 804 samples have been sent for the COVID-19 test from Gautam Buddh Nagar so far, of which 58 have tested positive, 614 negative and the results of the remaining are awaited," the health department here stated in its daily statement.

Eight persons were cured and discharged from hospitals while the number of active cases stood at 52, the department said. Currently, 1,129 people are under surveillance across Noida and Greater Noida, while another 331 have been quarantined - 69 in a Gautam Buddh University hostel and the rest in special isolation facilities at hospitals in Noida and Greater Noida - it added.

"District Magistrate Suhas L Y has directed administration officials to ensure a temporary sealing of the sector and village concerned in the wake of the COVID-19 detection as per protocol for a period of 48 hours," a statement from the administration said.

According to officials, the new case from Wazidpur in Sector 135 is a 32-year-old man, who works in Cease Fire. Three more cases were detected in Sector 62 -- the wife (48) and two children (aged 10 and 13 years) of a man who also works for the now-sealed Cease Fire.

The man, however, has tested negative for the virus, officials said. Details of the four new cases from the JJ cluster in Sector 5 are awaited. Gautam Buddh Nagar has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot in the country and in Uttar Pradesh. The district, adjoining Delhi, has recorded the maximum number of 227 COVID-19 cases in the state, according to official figures.