Covid-19 hinterland digest: UP evacuates students, but labourers are stuck

A constable travels more than 500 km to join "duty" in UP and a hospital in Agra is investigated for its coronavirus numbers.

India had 14,425 coronavirus cases till Saturday noon as deaths from the disease neared 500. Gujarat became the sixth state to have more than a thousand cases, as the country’s fight against the disease appeared to be turning a tide. The time taken for the cases to double is now six days instead of three days before a national lockdown was enforced. Some cities are reporting a fall in number of infections and India is testing more and more with each passing day. 

Moving away from big news about the coronavirus, Business Standard brings you some lesser-known stories from the hinterland.

Buses for students but not labourers?

The Uttar Pradesh government sent some 250 buses to Kota to bring home more than 8,000 students stuck in entrance exam coaching hub in Rajasthan, Hindi newspaper Bhaskar reported. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was praised for this, but people are asking why couldn’t his government bring home labourers stuck in parts of the country. Instead, the workers have been asked to stay wherever they are. The students ran a hashtag #SendBackHome on Twitter for two days to catch attention. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot was in touch with Adityanath and to avoid protests, like those by workers in Mumbai. Gehlot also said he is in touch with the Centre and would make arrangements to send back the migrant workers once he gets permission.

Ambulances for pregnant women and infants

The Uttar Pradesh health department has directed all the districts to keep two ambulances in reserve for pergnant women who get the coronavirus, Amar Ujala reported. The idea behind the move is to keep the infected women in isolation and yet provide efficient healthcare to them so that the infant and mother can be treated well. Several guidelines have been issued to pregnant women and mothers on how to take care of themselves and the infants. In Moradabad, there are 57 ambulances, out of which six are dedicated to coronavirus patients. Two have been kept in reserve as per the orders. According to the officials, there are no cases of pregnant women suffering from coronavirus yet in the district. 

Case filed against Agra hospital

Agra’s Paras hospital, blamed for being the source of several coronavirus cases in the city, faces heat again. The hospital’s management and chief doctor have been charged with giving false information about the number of coronavirus patients and the hospital staff. The management first said that there were 53 people in the hospital, including patients and staff. Later they revised the number to 73. When the authorities came to shift them, they found more than 220 people in the hospital. The hospital came into news when a woman who had been there was tested positive in Mathura. So far, authorities know that patients form this hospital travelled to 11 different districts. 

Cop travels 557 km to report on duty

Amid all the gloom, a 62-year-old head constable Rameshsingh Tomar travelled 557 km from Morena to Ujjain to report on duty, Bhaskar reported. He covered this distance in 17 days. Upon reaching the police station, he was welcomed by his colleagues and after a medical test, he was sent home. He said that his duty mattered more than anything else, hence he returned, without visiting his paternal village. 

Barelli's Subhashnagar no more a hotspot, almost

A man from Noida carrying the infection travelled to Barelli some days ago and later his family tested positive too, Dainik Jagran reported. The area was declared a hotspot and the family was quarantined. After much patience and medical care, all the members of his family tested negative. Also, no new case was reported in the area and city as well in the past 14 days. This has given hope to the district administration that it would no longer be a hotstop. The district magistrate would present his findings to the state government and hope for a positive outcome.