Eastern Uttar Pradesh new hub of Covid-19 in state
Lucknow: The latest trend of Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh shows that more coronavirus cases are being reported in the eastern parts of the state than in the west.
Going by the case positivity rate (CPR) or the number of persons found positive among those tested, it remains under the ideal limit of five per cent.
A district-wise assessment reveals that seven of the 10 districts with highest CPR are in the eastern part of the state.
Gorakhpur tops with 13.9, followed by Deoria (11), Maharajganj (9.2), Kushinagar (8.9), Prayagraj (7.8), Varanasi (7.7) and Azamgarh (7.0). The other districts in the top 10 include Lucknow (10.5), Kanpur (13.7) and Sitapur (7.3) which are in central Uttar Pradesh.
The situation in the previously heavy caseload districts of western Uttar Pradesh is now under control.
In the six districts of Meerut division — Ghaziabad (4.4), Gautam Buddha Nagar (4.1), Meerut (2.7), Hapur (1.5), Bulandshahr (1.3) and Baghpat (0.7) — the average CPR was found to be 2.4 which was way lower than the state and national average.
Agra, which faced the Covid-19 brunt in the first phase, has also settled down with the CPR of 2.0.
According to experts who cite WHO documents, a CPR of less than three per cent and more than 12 per cent was a result of testing inadequacies and called for a micro-assessment of the situation. The CPR in the range of 3-5 per cent was considered as good by health officials.
As many as 33 districts of Uttar Pradesh belong to this category.
In 22 districts, the CPR is above the state average of 4.8 per cent, while in 25 districts, it was below three per cent.
Talking about the UP CPR, Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said, “Despite the surge in cases, UP’s CPR has remained in the safe zone. This is mainly because of our strategic push to testing. Also, we are constantly improving our strategy for better control of the situation so that fewer lives are lost.”