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UP Govt launches COVID care fund amidst the possibility of lockdown extension

UP Govt launches COVID care fund amidst the possibility of lockdown extension
The UP government is planning to set up more testing labs and hospitals for the treatment of COVID 19.

The fund would be used to set up more testing labs, hospitals for COVID treatment in Uttar Pradesh. There is a possibility of extension of the lockdown beyond April 14 as the Central Government is considering the request of the state governments on the same.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : April 7, 2020 5:26 PM IST

The Uttar Pradesh government is taking various steps to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases in the state with the support of the central government. "Till now, there are total 308 Covid-19 positive cases including 168 Tablighi Jamaat returnees," said the UP CM Yogi Adityanath in an interview to a news agency. The state has seen 3 deaths due to COVID-19 infection according to the latest data from the Union Health Ministry.

While speaking to the news agency, Adityanath announced the launch of Uttar Pradesh COVID care fund, which he said would be used to set up more testing labs, hospitals for COVID treatment. "Currently, 10 testing labs are functioning in UP. Testing labs will be opened in 14 more government medical colleges. There is also plan to set up corona testing lab in every district hospital," he said.

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Already 10 government medical colleges have COVID-19 testing labs. "The government has directed to upgrade the facilities to test level 3 COVID cases. The COVID care fund will also be used to increase the number of hospitals for treating level 1,2, and 3 patients in the state,"the CM added.

In addition, the UP government is working to increase the production of COVID-19 protection gears like PPE, N95 masks, 3-layer masks, thermal analyzer, ventilator, etc.

India has entered the third week of its 21-day nationwide lockdown, but the COVID-19 cases are rapidly increasing in the country. As per the latest update on the Union Health Ministry website, the total number of confirmed cases in India currently stands at 4421, with 114 deaths. Worldwide, the virus has infected 1,214,466 people and claimed 67 767 lives according to the WHO report.

Other developments elsewhere in the country

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced 5-T plan to fight Covid-19. The 5-T action plan includes:

  • Testing
  • Tracing
  • Treating
  • Team-work
  • Tracking & monitoring

The Delhi government is also going to start random testing of people and it aims to cover around two lakh people in the next 14 days. While talking to a news agency, Delhi health minister Satyender Jain said that the state govt has also placed order for 1 Lakh rapid test kits, which will start arriving from Friday. "We'll start using these at Nizamuddin & Dilshad Garden first of all. 27,000 PPE kits have come to Delhi&I think we'll get it by this evening," he said.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for police personnel and other state government employees engaged in the fight against coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Odisha government has made it mandatory for all to cover mouth and nose while venturing out of house, starting April 9.

Centre Considering To Extend Lockdown

Several state governments, as well as experts, have approached the Centre with request to extend the lockdown beyond April 14. As per media reports, the Central Government is considering their request.

On Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, offering five suggestions to tackle coronavirus disease Covid-19. To cut government expenditure, she suggested scrapping the 20,000-crore for the Central Vista project, banning government advertisements to media, and putting on hold all official foreign trips.

According to her, the Centre spends 1,250 crore annually on media advertisements. Sonia Gandhi suggested using this fund to the fight against COVID-19 instead.

"First, impose a complete ban on media advertisements - television, print and online - by the Government and Public Sectors Undertakings [PSUs] for a period of two years. The only exceptions should be advisories for Covid-19 or for issues relating to public health," she has been quoted saying.

She also supported the decision taken by the Union Cabinet to reduce salaries of Members of Parliament by 30 per cent.

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