By PTI
LUCKNOW: In yet another big jump in COVID-19 cases, Uttar Pradesh recorded 6,411 new infections and six deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the virus tally to 17,29,870 and the fatality count to 22,924, according to an official bulletin.
On Friday 4,228 fresh cases and one death were registered in the state.
The recovery count rose to 16,88,395 after 171 patients recovered from the infection in the 24-hour period, the health department bulletin issued here said.
Two new fatalities linked to the virus were recorded in Meerut, one each in Agra, Gorakhpur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Auraiya districts.
The state has 18,551 active coronavirus cases.
Gautam Buddh Nagar, which recorded 1,141 coronavirus cases on Saturday, again accounted for the maximum number new infections, it said.
The state capital Lucknow recorded 876 cases, Ghaziabad 683, Meerut 636, Varanasi 337, Agra 271, Moradabad 236, Mathura 173, Kanpur 160, Prayagraj 126, Muzaffarnagar 116, Bulandshahr 104, Bareilly 101 and Saharanpur registered 100 new infections among other districts.
Over 2.20 lakh samples were tested in the last 24 hours, the latest bulletin said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed the officials that caution and vigilance is the basis of COVID-19 control and all necessary steps should be taken to prevent the spread of infection.
He said that the spread of this infection can be stopped by the use of masks, physical distancing and sanitization.
The chief minister said more than 21 crore 22 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the state.
He stressed the need for all eligible people to get vaccinated at the earliest.
Uttarakhand on Saturday reported 1,560 coronavirus cases, recording the highest single-day spike in infection cases in the state since May 29 last year when 1,687 people had tested positive.
Meanwhile, no death was reported in the state, which till now has reported 7,423 fatalities.
So far, 3,49,472 cases have been reported in the state.
Dehradun district reported the highest 537 cases, followed by Nainital (404), Haridwar (303), Pithoragarh (82), Almora (52) and Champawat (46), the Covid control room here said.
Uttarakhand had reported 814 cases of Covid-19 on Friday.
On the sudden jump in Covid cases, social activist Anoop Nautiyal said, “I appeal to Govt of #Uttarakhand and Health Dept to immediately increase the no. of Covid tests.”
“We are only doing 15,000 odd tests on a daily basis. This is far lower than the target of 25,000 that was set by the authorities. In fact, this target needs revision after the big spike in cases in state,” he said.
