UP CM lauds state's COVID management, teamwork

It could be made possible due to effective health management and an exemplary teamwork, he said while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the Healthy Eastern Uttar Pradesh - an initiative drive at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS here.Pointing out that developed countries such as the US have registered a COVID death rate of eight per cent and even the developed states in the country have seen 3-5 per cent patients succumbing to the disease, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh has recorded a death rate of 1.04 per cent among coronavirus patients.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asserted on Thursday that the state is on the anvil to post victory after a decisive battle against COVID-19 and this was made possible due to effective health management and an exemplary teamwork. ''We are about a month away from the COVID vaccine while the state has already contained the pandemic. It could be made possible due to effective health management and an exemplary teamwork,'' he said while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the ''Healthy Eastern Uttar Pradesh - an initiative'' drive at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

Pointing out that developed countries such as the US have registered a COVID death rate of eight per cent and even the developed states in the country have seen 3-5 per cent patients succumbing to the disease, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh has recorded a death rate of 1.04 per cent among coronavirus patients. The COVID management of the state has received huge praise from the World Health Organization and there should be a research paper on this, he added.

Teamwork pays rich dividends and medical institutes such as the AIIMS should also realise their role in this regard, the chief minister said. Stressing on the importance of field research, he said the research work carried out in the field is always better than what is achieved in laboratories.

Treatment is always the last resort and success lies in the prevention of a disease, Adityanath said, adding, ''If we could contain the deadly Japanese Encephalitis after four decades of its menace, it was due to some effective preventive measures. The same applies to COVID and there is no scope for carelessness.'' The AIIMS can set an example in this regard, he said. The chief minister lashed out at the previous governments in the state for allegedly neglecting the menace of JE and concentrating on their vote banks instead.

''The JE was prevalent in 38 districts since 1977,'' he said, adding that there used to be 600-1,200 deaths due to the disease every year, which has now come down to 21-25 due to some innovative steps taken after he became the chief minister. ''We have controlled polio and now we can eradicate TB as well,'' Adityanath said.

He reminded the medical fraternity that Gorakhpur has the responsibility of about five crore people spread over the Gorakhpur and Basti divisions, eastern and northern Bihar and Nepal. Earlier, the chief minister was welcomed by Professor Surekha Kishor, Director, AIIMS-Gorakhpur.