Daily cases & deaths dip, testing up: Has the second Covid wave ebbed in UP? 


India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, appears to be getting out of the grip of the second wave of Covid-19. After a record high of 37,944 new cases on April 24, new infections fell to 7,186 on Wednesday, May 19. After Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, UP has recorded the maximum number of cases (16.45 lakh) so far.

With a total of 18,352 Covid-related deaths in the state, UP has the fifth highest death toll in the country. Only Maharashtra (84,371), Karnataka (23,306), Delhi (22,579) and Tamil Nadu (18,734) have recorded more deaths than UP.

However, as cases have fallen, so has the number of deaths in the state. Daily new deaths had hit a record high of 372 on May 7. Two weeks later it was 280.

UP now has 1.24 lakh active Covid cases, which is the eighth highest in the country. Karnataka (5.59 lakh), Maharashtra (4.02 lakh), Kerala (3.32 lakh), Tamil Nadu (2.54 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (2.1 lakh), Rajasthan (1.53 lakh) and West Bengal (1.31 lakh) are ahead of UP in conditions for active cases.

The UP government has confirmed surveillance teams are active in the villages and 68 percent of the state’s villages are now virus free.

The tests were accelerated

As is often seen, an increase in tests goes hand in hand with an increase in cases and vice versa. In the case of UP, however, cases have decreased despite an increase in tests.

UP has so far given 4.6 Crore vaccine doses, which is way ahead of other states. The second highest vaccine, Maharashtra, gave 3.2 doses of crore, while Bihar and Karnataka each gave 2.8 doses of crore.

The average daily testing on May 1st in UP was 2.18 lakh, which has now increased to 2.68 lakh per day.

In order to uncover Covid cases and stop their spread, the Yogi Adityanath government has increased surveillance in villages and cities.

“So far, our surveillance teams have reached 16.9 million people in 3.5 million homes in villages and towns. Our main focus is on villages as cases have been detected in 32 percent of the villages, “said Amit Mohan Prasad, additional chief secretary for health and family welfare, on Wednesday.

Vaccination under the brand

While testing has been ramped up and infections are declining, the rate of vaccination with UP is not complementary. After administering an average of 3.17 lakh doses per day on April 17, the state has currently vaccinated only 1.78 lakh people per day.

Meanwhile, the doubling time of Covid cases in UP has increased from 23 days on May 1st to 95 days on May 20th. Also, the time it takes for deaths to double has increased from 31 to 42 days over the same period. The current recovery rate in the state is 91.4 percent compared to the national average of 86.7 percent.

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