Lucknow: Mantri, BJP chief among 754 new Covid-19 patients in two days

Lucknow: Jal Shakti minister Mahendra Singh and UP BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh were among 754 more persons testing positive for Covid-19 in the city in 48 hours till Sunday evening. The relief, however, was that almost an equal numbers recovered from the disease.

Singh is the seventh minister to have been tested positive for the infection so far.

Other six include health minister JP Singh and a minister-rank functionary.

As many as 363 persons tested positive for novel coronavirus on Saturday, while 391 were diagnosed with the disease on Sunday, taking the caseload to 8,686 since the outbreak on March 11. Of these, 7,550 (87%) were reported in a month with an average of over 250 cases daily.

Total 757 patients — 347 on Saturday and 410 on Sunday — in hospitals or home isolation were cured, taking the total number of recoveries to 4,559. With this, the number of recoveries are now more than the number of active cases (4,012).

“The minister was tested after he developed influenza-like-illness and has been admitted to SGPGIMS”, said chief medical officer Dr Rajendra Prasad Singh.

The BJP state president tweeted his status, saying he got himself tested after experiencing initial Covid-19 symptoms and has home quarantined himself on advice of doctors. He also requested all those who had been in contact with him to self-isolate and get themselves tested. Overall, 19 politicians and their 25 contacts, including Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary, have been diagnosed with the disease till date. On Sunday, highest 18 persons were found to be infected in Gomtinagar, followed by Indiranagar 15, Talkatora and Chowk 14 each, Krishnanagar 13, Alambagh and Madiaon 12 each, Thakurganj 11 and Chinhat, Cantonment and Hasanganj 10 each.