Uttar Pradesh will kick start a mass screening program deploying 1 lakh teams to conduct door to door screening across urban and rural areas in every district even as it begins the second phase of targeted random sampling.

The state will also start antigen testing in Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Kanpur Nagar and will extend it to western UP , including high case load districts falling in the Delhi-NCR region like Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad.

The screening will include testing people for temperature as well as oxygen levels using oximeter, additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi said , adding that CM Yogi Adityanath has stressed that the screening should be “effective” and be carried out in such a way that all possible geographical areas, including all wards in urban areas as well as all villages should be covered.

The move to step up screening comes alongside the state government’s ongoing program of targeted random sampling which focused on conducting random tests in old age homes, child care centers, Nari Niketans, villages of migrants last week and will now test people with high mobility like delivery personnel, vendors and roadside dhaba owners. Targeted random sampling is being conducted within groups that are vulnerable highly mobile as well those staying in closed spaces like jails, also with an objective to spread awareness in such centers, principal secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

The discharge rate of UP has now inched up to 63% while at the same time 569 deaths have taken place, with the number of deaths increasing by more than 160% since the beginning of this month. 6,252 people are currently being treated in isolation centers which include Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases that are also being isolated now.