Lucknow: With Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh rising by the hour, state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has now asked health officials to undertake additional surveillance measures in districts having more than 100 active cases. There are around 40 districts in the state that fall in this category, including Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Jhansi and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

The Chief Minister, during his meeting with Team 11, also told officials to keep a close eye on the situation in Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gorakhpur considering the rapid rise in Covid cases in these districts.

According to sources, nearly 50 per cent of the present case load is being reported in these five big cities. The government spokesman said that the Chief Minister had asked officials to ensure that crowds do not collect at any one point through effective policing.

Additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad, said that as many as 22,820 active cases were under observation. Of the total, 12,338 were under home isolation.

He said that all arrangements to provide best possible treatment to patients in need, beds and necessary medical equipment was in place. The deployment of the required work force was also being ensured. He further said that the importance of contact tracing and testing for Covid-19 control was being followed with full capacity.