Migrants account for 60% of active Covid cases in UP

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh's Covid-19 cases crossed the 6,500-mark, with 229 fresh cases being reported in the past 24 hours. The state also recorded eight deaths, taking the total number of Covid-19 casualties to 169.

Two deaths were reported in Meerut while one each in Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Pratapgarh, Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Etawah. The fresh cases took the total number of Covid-19 positive cases to 6,528, of which 3,660 have recovered. The number of active cases is 2699.

Migrant workers continued to be the biggest contributors to UP's Covid tally."Migrant workers and labourers back home serving quarantine are being watched by Asha workers who have screened 8.5 lakh migrants so far," he said.

As per the state government's report, samples of 54,849 people who have come from other states have been collected on the basis of Asha workers' screening. Out of them 1,663 have been found positive. That means, more than 60% of the active cases in UP are migrants.

Principal secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad, said that a bulk of active patients in state now comprised migrant workers, adding that surveillance was going on in full swing. "Over 91,000 teams have been engaged in surveillance. These teams surveyed 72.18 lakh households to cover a population of over 3.63 crore," he said.