Lucknow, Nov 17 (Agency) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has praised Uttar Pradesh Government for its COVID-19 management strategy. “The UP government’s strategic response to COVID-19 by stepping up contact tracing efforts is exemplary and can serve as a good example for other states”, said Dr Roderico Ofrin, WHO Country Representative said in a statement. The global health body appreciated the efforts made by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his government for the management especially in tracking the high-risk contacts. Over 70,000 front-line health workers worked across the state to reach out to high-risk contacts of COVID-19 positive cases.
Acknowledging contact tracing as an essential public health tool for controlling the pandemic, Dr Ofrin stated, “Systematic tracking of contacts through a proper mechanism is key, along with a well-trained health workforce to implement the surveillance activities.” “The WHO team provided technical support to the state government to boost contact tracing efforts and strengthen the capacity of field teams through training. Field monitors assessed the quality of contact tracing of 58,000 COVID-19 positive cases in 75 districts and found that 93 percent of the high-risk contacts were traced and tested. This exercise helped the government in strengthening contact tracing in 17 districts where more than 12 000 high-risk contacts were missed for testing”, Dr Madhup Bajpai, Regional Team Leader, Uttar Pradesh Region, WHO-NPSP said in a statement. Meanwhile, the state government has issued an alert to all the districts in view of the upcoming Chhath Puja. Currently, the active cases in Uttar Pradesh are 22, 603 and the recovery rate stands at 94.15 per cent. The government has increased the testing to keep a check on COVID-19 infections.On an average, more than 1.50 lakh Covid tests are being done in the state, highest across the states and union territories.