UP Reports First 2 COVID-19 Deaths, Total Positive Cases Cross 100

Uttar Pradesh has reported its first two deaths due to coronavirus infection today with one casualty each in Basti and Meerut districts as the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 116.

Of the 116 infected people, 17 were cured and discharged, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said, adding of the two persons who died one was from Basti and the other from Meerut.

The man from Basti died at a hospital in Gorakhpur on Monday before his reports came in. He was 25-year-old and was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. He was suffering from liver and kidney ailments for the last three months, the official said.

The other person who died of coronavirus infection in the state was a 72-year-old man from Meerut. He had a visit from his son-in-law, a Maharashtra-based pottery businessman, Mr Prasad said.

The businessman had visited his in-laws in Meerut from Amravati on March 19 and had taken part in a wedding ceremony the next day. He was hospitalised last Thursday.

The man's wife, their four sons and four daughter-in-laws are also admitted to a Meerut hospital.

Comparing the number of those infected with the novel coronavirus since March 28, Mr Prasad said the lockdown and personal hygiene appears to be having an impact.

If proper protocol is maintained, the disease would be controlled in an effective manner, he said.

So far, cases have been reported from 16 districts of the state. Four clusters have been identified in Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Bareilly from where most of the COVID-19 cases are being reported, the official said.

According to a health department bulletin issued on Wednesday evening, the number of coronavirus positive patients in the state has reached 116.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has reported 48 case, Meerut 19, Agra 12, Lucknow nine, Ghaziabad eight, Bareilly six, Bulandshahr three, Pilibhit and Varanasi two each, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kanpur, Moradabad, Shamli, Jaunpur, Baghpat and Basti one each.