The Allahabad HC on Thursday lauded the Uttar Pradesh government for augmenting medical infrastructure in 5 districts- Bahraich, Shravasti, Bijnor, Barabanki and Jaunpur amid the second COVID-19 wave. A division bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar was hearing a suo moto petition on the inhuman condition at quarantine centres and providing better treatment to COVID-19 patients. It also noted that satisfactory work has been done for the capping of fee for diagnostics. For instance, the cost of RT-PCR and antigen tests have been fixed at Rs. 500-900 and Rs. 200 respectively.

Meanwhile, the HC asked the state government to submit a report regarding the health infrastructure in the districts of Bhadohi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Deoria and Shamli by the next date of hearing. The Centre was also directed to put forth its stance pertaining to the inoculation of physically challenged persons. Thereafter, the matter was adjourned to the week commencing June 7.

UP CM claims success in COVID-19 fight

Speaking exclusively to Republic TV on Thursday, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath delved into the fight against the novel coronavirus amid the second wave. Cautioning people against laxity in their approach, he maintained that the state had successfully managed to contain the spread of COVID-19. For instance, he highlighted that the active cases in UP had seen a continuous decline since April 24.

Moreover, he also elaborated on the state government’s preparations for the third wave which includes sanitization drive, ensuring availability of safe drinking water and ramping up beds. Hitting back at the opposition’s criticism, the UP CM pointed out that 30 new medical colleges are being built during his tenure as compared to only 12 government medical colleges which were built from 1947 to 2017. At present, there are 58,270 active novel coronavirus cases in UP out of which 16,05,696 patients have recovered and 19,899 deaths were reported.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath remarked, “This virus, as the Prime Minister said is an imposter and rogue. We should not become lax and throw caution to the wind under any circumstances. If we carry forward this strategy while taking precautions and remain alert, there will be no problem. Today, Uttar Pradesh is in a safe position. Global experts were concerned that the situation in UP will be terrible in April end and May. They predicted that the active cases will be more than 30 lakh with over one lakh daily positive cases. Adopting PM’s mantra of trace, test and treat, we have managed to contain the COVID-19 spread.”