12 new COVID-19 cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar, total rises to 92

Noida: Twelve more people, including a doctor and a nurse, tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Noida and Greater Noida on Thursday, taking the total number of cases in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district to 92, officials said.

The 26-year-old nurse was working at a quarantine facility in Sector 39 of Noida, but the doctor, a gastroenterologist, was not posted on any COVID-19 duty.

Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh is among the 15 districts of the state where hotspots -- areas with multiple novel coronavirus cases -- have been completely sealed.

The district did not report any case on Wednesday and had one case on Tuesday. Out of the 92 patients, 33 have been cured and discharged till now, leaving 59 active coronavirus cases in the district, officials said.

The latest batch of positive cases also includes a three-year-old boy from Sector 74 who got infected from his parents, who are already undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

"One hundred and fifty test reports have been received here in the last 24 hours. Of them, 138 have tested negative while others were found COVID-19 positive," District Surveillance Officer Sunil Dohare said.

Of the 12 fresh cases, samples of 11 were tested in a government lab, while one in a private lab, the officer said.

Five of them are members of a family living in Sector 93A of Noida. They are all linked to a person who tested positive for COVID-19, according to the health department here.

Another four people are members of a family residing in Sector 50 of Noida. They are linked to a patient previously detected for the virus from the sector, the department said.

The doctor, a resident of Noida Sector 20, is admitted to a private hospital in Delhi and his COVID-19 test was conducted at a private lab, the department said.

"Total 1,912 samples have been collected and sent for test so far from Gautam Buddh Nagar. Out of the total 92 cases in the district, 26 have been cured and discharged," the district surveillance officer said.

Within hours of the daily statement on COVID-19 cases, District Magistrate (DM) Suhas L Y said some more patients were cured and discharged on Thursday.

"Dear residents, today nine more patients have been cured and discharged, making the total discharge number to 33 out of 92 cases. Now 59 active Covid cases remain in Gautam Buddh Nagar. All our corona warriors shall continue to do our best," the DM tweeted.

In a statement, the health department said 1,369 people are currently under surveillance across Noida and Greater Noida for the novel coronavirus, while 683 are in institutional quarantine.

On cluster containment activity, the department said 3,808 teams have been deployed for gathering information and spreading awareness on COVID-19 under a concerted door-to-door campaign.

"These teams have visited 3,58,848 houses till date and screened 11,49,588 people during which they identified 1,059 travellers," it said, adding that all travellers have been put under surveillance.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has identified 27 hotspots across Noida and Greater Noida where residential societies and sectors have been completely sealed, even as general lockdown curbs applied elsewhere in the district.