UP's Gautam Buddh Nagar reports 17 new COVID-19 cases in; total now 323

Seventeen more people, including three teenagers, tested positive for coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar on Saturday, pushing the total number of cases in the district to 323, officials said. Seven people were discharged from hospitals after being cured, even as the number of active cases in the district rose to 97, they said.

District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said 58 test results were obtained from Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), 60 from National Institute of Biologicals (NIB) and 128 from Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital and Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI) on Saturday. "All results from GIMS were negative. Thirteen from NIB were found positive, while three from SSPHPGTI were also found positive," he said.

One more person whose report came back positive was tested at a private laboratory, the officials said. "On Saturday, 17 people were found positive for COVID-19 and total positive cases till date stand at 323. Seven patients were discharged on Saturday and a total of 221 patients have recovered so far. There are 97 active cases now," Dohare said in a statement.

Adjoining Delhi, Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh has so far recorded five deaths, all of them males aged above 60, according to the officials. The fresh cases include five members of a family, including three teenagers, from Sarfabad in Noida's Sector 73, the statement said.

Three patients aged 27, 27 and 23 from Nagla Charandas village in Sector 81, a 35-year-old man from Sector 5, a 42-year-old man from Barola village in Sector 49, a 33-year-old man from Gijhod village in Sector 53 -- all in Noida, tested positive for COVID-19, it stated. A 23-year-old man from Gaur City-II, a 29-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man from Bisrakh village, a 25-year-old man from Kasna -- all in Greater Noida, also tested positive, it added.

Also, five patients, aged 35, 18, 35, 40 and 30, were discharged from GIMS, while two, aged 55 and 48, were discharged from a hospital in Delhi, according to the statement. In the last three days, the surveillance officer said, screening of 400 employees of the Zee Media group has been undertaken during a health camp and its entire building has been sanitised to prevent the spread of infection.

"(As many as) 267 employees were screened and given medication in the health camp. All close contacts were sent for testing of COVID-19 and they are currently in institutional quarantine. (A total of) 252 employees who were in institutional quarantine were listed out and put on surveillance," he said. "The entire fourth floor, where the index case was found, has been sealed to contain the infection. The administration has recommended keeping the fourth floor sealed till reports of all employees are received and surveillance of all family members of employees of Zee News undertaken," he said.

On May 18, 28 employees of the Noida Sector 16A-based Zee Media had tested positive for COVID-19, according to officials. Of these, 15 reside in Gautam Buddh Nagar and 13 in Delhi, Faridabad and Gurgaon, they said.

The Zee Media group had said in a statement that it had initiated "mass testing" after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19 on May 15..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)