Doubling rate of COVID-19 cases increases in U'khand, officials blame migrant influx

Dehradun, May 27 () The doubling rate of coronavirus cases in Uttarakhand has spiked during the last ten days and the number of infections has jumped nearly five times during the period due to the influx of migrants in the state, officials said on Wednesday.

The doubling rate of coronavirus cases has increased from 16 days on May 17 to nearly four days on Wednesday. Uttarakhand had 92 coronavirus cases on May 17. The number now stands at 438, according to official data.

"The sharp spike in the number of COVID-19 cases has led to a corresponding rise in the doubling rate (of infections)," nodal officer, state health directorate, J C Pandey said.

The doubling rate of COVID-19 cases which stood at 10.3 days on May 20 has risen to 3.99 days in just a week, he said.

Pandey attributed the sudden rise in the number of COVID-19 cases as well as the doubling rate to a large number of migrants returning to the state from different parts of the country.

Asked if a change of strategy is in the works to control the rising number of cases, he said he is not aware of any such plan.

However, he added, the state is fully prepared to deal with any situation.

State minister Dhan Singh Rawat said as most of the new patients are those coming from outside the state, the government has decided to compulsorily quarantine them at entry points such as Dehradun, Haridwar and Kotdwar rather than allowing them to head straight to their home districts and villages.

Guidelines have been issued to all district magistrates in this regard, he said.

Taking cognisance of the sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in the state as migrants return in droves from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi, the Uttarakhand High Court had asked the state government last week to quarantine the returnees at border points.

A total of 2,52,578 migrants have applied online to be brought back to Uttarakhand. Out of these, around 1,64,008 have already been brought back, state government data showed. ALM DIV DIV