77 virus deaths, 4,336 fresh cases in UP; total count 1,62,434

People who came in contact with me from August 16 to 18 should get themselves tested," he said in a tweet. Garg was admitted to the private Yashoda Superspeciality Hospital, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, where doctors stated his condition is stable.

Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday recorded its worst daily fatality count with 77 more people succumbing to coronavirus even as a minister and two lawmakers are among the fresh 4,336 cases. So far, 2,585 people have died from the infection in the state, a senior official said. The number of COVID-19 cases too has reached 1,62,434 with 4,336 fresh cases in the past 24 hours.

According to a government bulletin, among the 77 deaths, the maximum 14 has were reported from Kanpur Nagar followed by 12 from Lucknow, six in Ballia and five in Allahabad. The maximum cases were reported from Lucknow (514), Gorakhpur (267) and Kanpur Nagar (261), according to it. Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said the number of those who have been discharged from hospitals after recovery has reached 1,09,607.

The state has 50,242 active cases, he said. Prasad said there are 25,008 people who have opted for home isolation while 1,719 are taking treatment at private facilities.

He said on Monday, 93,774 samples were tested in the state. Altogether, over 39 lakh tests have been conducted in the state so far, which is the maximum for any state in the country, he added. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Health Atul Garg tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Garg (63), an MLA from Ghaziabad, requested all those who came in his contact recently to get themselves tested for the disease. "On August 15, an RT-PCR test was done and I had tested negative. Yesterday, in the rapid test conducted around 9 pm, I tested positive. People who came in contact with me from August 16 to 18 should get themselves tested," he said in a tweet.

Garg was admitted to the private Yashoda Superspeciality Hospital, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, where doctors stated his condition is stable. "The minister was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday. According to preliminary investigations done at the hospital, his condition is stable now. He is under observation and a team of doctors attending to him as he is a known diabetic and hypertensive," a hospital official told PTI.

Two UP cabinet ministers--Kamal Rani Varun and Chetan Chauhan—had succumbed to COVID-19 this month. A report from Gorakhpur said BJP MP of Sant Kabirnagar Pravin Nishad tested coronavirus positive on Monday and has gone into home quarantine at his residence in Delhi.

The MP's representative, Anand Tiwari, said his father and Nishad Party's national president Sanjay Nishad, the MP's younger brother and his representative in Delhi too tested coronavirus positive. A Shahjahanpur report said the BJP MLA from Dadraul, Manvendra Singh, tested positive in a rapid antigen test conducted on him and he will be going in for a RT-PCR test soon.