Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday underlined the need to speed up the Covid-19 vaccination drive further in the state.

He said this while observing that the state on Monday launched a special drive to vaccinate street vendors, sellers of vegetables, fruits, milk, besides bus drivers and conductors, rickshaw-pullers, e-rickshaw operators and three-wheeler drivers.

“Considering the vast population of the state, there is a need to speed up the vaccination drive even further; all the more because in July the target is to administer 10-12 lakh doses per day,” he said at a Covid-19 review meeting.

The chief minister said only 339 new Covid-19 infection cases were recorded in the past 24 hours in the state and 1,116 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals during the same period.

“The state now has a recovery rate of 98.2% and only 8111 active cases,” he said.

He also said the state had more than sufficient oxygen and the oxygen demand was returning to normal.

Continue wheat procurement beyond June 15: CM

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath asked the officers concerned to continue the wheat procurement process beyond June 15.

“Make sure that the procured wheat is stored properly and protected from rain,” he said. So far, the state had purchased 52.66 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from 11.83 lakh farmers and the state government had already paid ₹8,510 crore to the wheat growers, he said.

He also asked the officers concerned to operate cow shelters in an organised manner in coordination with the chief veterinary officer in each district.