COVID-19 tally in UP reaches 55,588 with record single-day rise in cases; death toll climbs to 1,263

With this, the death toll rose to 1,263, while the total number of cases reported in the state so far climbed to 55,588. Prasad said the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 20,825. Referring to eSanjeevani, a telemedicine platform to get doctors' advice on COVID-19 infection, Prasad said, "There is no need to go to hospitals.

As many as 2,300 people have tested positive for coronavirus infection on Wednesday in the largest single-day rise in cases till date in Uttar Pradesh, while 34 died of the disease in the last 24 hours. With this, the death toll rose to 1,263, while the total number of cases reported in the state so far climbed to 55,588. The state had reported 53,288 COVID-19 cases till Tuesday.

Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, however, said the count of new cases in the state was 2,308. Of the 34 fresh deaths, five were reported from Lucknow, four from Kanpur and three from Gorakhpur. Two deaths each were reported from Meerut, Moradabad, Prayagraj, Sultanpur, Jhansi and Mirzapur.

Agra, Jaunpur, Basti, Barabanki, Aligarh, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Ballia, Badaun and Kasganj reported one death each. Prasad said the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 20,825. "As many as 1,263 COVID-19 patients have died in the state," he said, adding 33,500 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged so far.

In total, 16 lakh samples have been examined for COVID-19 with 45,650 of them being tested on Tuesday, Prasad said. Referring to eSanjeevani, a telemedicine platform to get doctors' advice on COVID-19 infection, Prasad said, "There is no need to go to hospitals. You need to register yourself by providing your phone number. After this, you will get an OTP and you get registered on submitting the OTP." Doctors will prescribe medicine through the platform itself, he said.

'eSanjeevaniOPD – Stay Home OPD' has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali. Some of the salient features of this web-based National Teleconsultation Service include patient registration, token generation, queue management, audio-visual consultation with a doctor along with the provision of ePrescriptions and SMS/email notifications.

Static centres for testing too will be set up in the state, Prasad said. He also said that a helpline number, 18001805146, has been started for those in home isolation.