UP drafts strategy for possible 3rd wave of Covid-19

Virendra Singh Rawat

Lucknow / May 16, 2021

Uttar Pradesh has prepared a strategy to counter a possible third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, chief minister Yogi Adityanath today said.

Talking to the media at the Film City in Noida, Adityanath said the coronavirus cases were fast receding in UP since the state government had taken effective steps on a war footing.

“We are working with full preparedness and vigilance. For possible third wave, directions have already been issued to the state community health centres, district hospitals and medical colleges to set up dedicated ICUs, especially for women and children,” he informed.

He noted it was imperative to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the villages, for which the state had formulated a smart ‘trace, test and treat’ model. This strategy has even been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Niti Aayog.

“If you identify an infected person early and start timely treatment, there are negligible chances of the case turning critical. Therefore, we are giving a medical kit along with the antigen test, so that even if the RT-PCR test result comes later, the treatment is underway,” Adityanath underlined.

The health officials have been directed to undertake digital x-ray on those patients, who show Covid symptoms yet their RT-PCR report is negative.

On an average, 250,000 tests are being conducted daily in UP, while nearly 45 million tests have been conducted on a cumulative basis so far.

“The ‘Team 11’ which was formed last year to control the first wave in UP has been dovetailed to ‘Team 9’ in the current second wave. In the last 24 hours, only 10,000 new cases have been reported, while the infection rate has dropped to 5 per cent from 22 per cent earlier,” he added.

So far, 15 million people have been vaccinated in UP even as the CM mentioned that the vaccination process would be further intensified.

Adityanath said he was on a touring spree since May 7 and so far visited the hinterland of Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra, Mathura and Aligarh districts. The state is taking steps to ensure villagers do not have to travel long distances for their vaccine shots, as such the vaccination would be administered at common areas in the rural pockets.