UP CM asks officials to ramp up rapid antigen COVID testing, increase ambulances in districts

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 18 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked officials to ramp up rapid antigen COVID testing and directed them to increase the number of ambulances in all districts.
The Chief Minister presided over the Unlock review meeting at his official residence and said the persons found suspect in the door-to-door medical survey should be subjected to rapid antigen testing.
"If somebody is found COVID-19 positive, they should be sent to COVID hospitals immediately. Set up the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the district level. Through this Centre, the medical screening, ambulance services and all the activities regarding prevention of COVID-19 should be organised," he said, according to an official release.
The Chief Minister laid emphasis on contact tracing to effectively check the spread of the virus. He directed the senior administrative officers to do intensive monitoring of the drive in the districts they are in-charge of.
"Proper implementation of cleanliness and sanitisation drive should be ensured on Saturday and Sunday. The active participation of the public is a must for this, hence the people are advised to not venture out from their homes," he said.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference on the daily situation regarding coronavirus in the state, Uttar Pradesh Principal Health Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said 1,986 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the state in the last 24 hours.
"The total active cases now stand at 17,264. A total of 28,664 people have been discharged after recovering from the disease, and the death toll stands at 1,108."
He said the Chief Minister has said that doctors should do more research while studying the case history of people who have recovered from the disease as it will help in developing an effective method of treatment. (ANI)