As UP Sees Highest Single-Day Spike with 2,211 Covid-19 Cases, Priyanka Says CM Evading Accountability

The COVID-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh rose to 49,247 on Sunday with the highest single-day jump of 2,211 fresh cases, while the death toll reached 1,146 after 38 fatalities were reported in the state, according to a statement.

Eight fatalities were reported from Kanpur, four from Bareilly and three from Rampur, it said.

Lucknow, Prayagraj, Sambhal, Gonda, Ballia and Hamirpur reported two deaths each, while Meerut, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Bahraich, Gorakhpur, Etawah, Maharajganj, Bhadohi, Jhansi and Mahoba registered one death each, the statement issued by the UP government said.

On Saturday, the COVID-10 tally in the state had reached 47,036. With 2,211 fresh infections, the total number of cases has now risen to 49,247. However, the Uttar Pradesh government in the statement has put the number of fresh cases at 2,250.

There are 18,256 active cases in the state, while a total of 29,845 patients have been discharged from hospitals so far after recovering from the disease.

Among the new COVID-19 cases, 392 are from Lucknow, followed by 168 from Kanpur, 125 from Gautam Buddh Nagar, 104 from Jhansi and 100 from Prayagraj.

Additional Chief Secretary Medical and Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters that 44,130 samples were tested for COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the total number of samples tested so far in the state to 14,70,426.

In a sharp attack on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the fight against COVID-19 is in a bad state, but the CM is evading accountability by giving "childish statements" like calling it the century's weakest virus.

The Congress general secretary has been criticising the state government's response to the COVID-19 crisis repeatedly, alleging that it is indulging in propaganda, instead of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

"CM Sahib and his officials have repeatedly claimed having adequate number of beds and of everything being fine in the fight against coronavirus, but looking at the condition of Lucknow in these media reports, it will be understood that the policy of hiding UP government's inadequate preparedness, poor management and weaknesses, has resulted in this bad state of affairs," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet and tagged media reports on long wait for beds for COVID patients in Lucknow.

"Patients are worried, health workers are worried, but the head of the government is evading accountability by making childish statements like 'this is the weakest virus of the century'," she said.

Yogi Adityanath on Saturday had said that integrated command and control centres should be established in every district, and through this, monitoring of operation of ambulances, medical screening, survey work and various other activities pertaining to prevention of COVID-19 would be done.

He had said that along with officials of the police and administration, officials of Panchayati Raj, Urban Development and Health departments would be linked to the command centre.