As India grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, the Uttar Pradesh government has increased the number of isolation beds in the state for COVID-19 patients by more than three times to 53,459 in the last two weeks, The Indian Express reported.

Of the total beds, as many as 24,266 beds have been arranged by the government and private medical colleges. The remaining beds are arranged by the health department hospitals and buildings converted into COVID care centres.

UP at present has 1,953 patients in isolation wards, which makes for 3.6 per cent occupancy rate till Saturday. In addition, at least 9,003 persons are under institutional quarantine.

With the trains starting to take migrants back to their states, the state government, last week, had said it was expecting at least 10 lakh migrants to return to the state.

‘Making a significant increase in our Covid treatment facilities, we now have 53,459 isolation beds,’ said Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad.

As of Monday, May 11, Uttar Pradesh has reported 3,467 cases of COVID-19. Of this, 1,653 people have recovered and 79 have succumbed to the virus.

With 756 cases, Agra has the most number of cases, followed by Kanpur with 301 cases and Lucknow with 250 cases. Agra has recorded most deaths at 24 followed by 13 in Meerut, seven in Moradabad, and six in Kanpur Nagar.

Also Read: India Managed COVID-19 Effectively Early On: WHO Envoy