Lucknow: High Covid-19 mortality rate in at least four Uttar Pradesh districts has turned into a fresh political controversy for the Yogi Adityanath government, which has claimed better performance than other states in dealing with the big health crisis.
On Wednesday, Congress general secretary and its UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet that Meerut, Agra, Jhansi and Etah districts in UP are among the 15 worst affected in the country in terms of Covid mortality.
Citing state bulletin data, she said one out of every 10 Covid patients in Jhansi, 11 in Meerut and 14 in Agra and Etah is dying. Questioning the UP government’s claims, she also asked how the mortality rate in these districts is rising so fast if the number of cases is not increasing.
कोरोना से सबसे अधिक मृत्युदर वाले 15 जिलों में 4 जिले यूपी के हैं।
झांसी:हर 10 कोरोना पीड़ित में एक की मौत
मेरठ:हर 11 में एक कोरोना पीड़ित की मौत
आगरा और एटा में हर 14 कोरोना पीड़ित में एक की मौत हुई है
सोचने वाली बात है अगर केस बढ़ नहीं रहे तो मृत्युदर इतनी ज्यादा क्यों है? pic.twitter.com/971vb0y1nB
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 24, 2020
According to the UP government data as of Wednesday, Meerut has recorded 837 Covid cases and 75 deaths — a mortality rate of 9 per cent. In Agra, 84 Covid patients have died out of a total of 1,150 cases — 7 per cent. With seven deaths out of 102 patients, Etah has seen a mortality rate of 6.9 per cent.
Jhansi has reported the highest mortality rate among these districts at 10.7 per cent, with 12 deaths out of 112 cases.
Also read: How congested, communally-sensitive Malegaon went from Covid hotspot to just 75 cases
What the state government says
The Yogi Adityanath government has denied all allegations of mismanagement.
Speaking to ThePrint, Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said the government is especially monitoring these districts.
“Nodal officers have been appointed in all districts with large number of corona cases. Each and every death in Agra and Meerut is being closely monitored. Officers are working hard to improve the situation there,” he said.
“At such a difficult time, all of us should boost their morale. This is not an occasion to indulge into politics, but to encourage the corona warriors. UP’s situation is much better than other states. It is not right to question the whole system by only pointing out the mortality rate,” Singh added.
Ashok Mishra, former chief medical officer in the UP government, agreed with Singh. “In certain districts, negligence in medical care might be the reason behind rapid spurt in Covid mortality rates. However, it cannot be termed as a case of negligence at the entire state level,” said Mishra.
As of Wednesday, UP reported 19,016 Covid cases and 588 deaths. A total of 12,116 patients recovered or were discharged. Agra reported the highest toll.
Also read: Delhi and Mumbai’s high Covid tally linked to severe air pollution levels, say experts
Questions over Agra model
The latest row over Covid in Uttar Pradesh has come days after another controversy over the Agra model of Covid containment.
On 22 June, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had raised serious questions about the Agra model through a tweet, highlighting the death of “28 patients within 48 hours of being admitted”. Following this, Agra District Magistrate P.N. Singh had issued a notice to her, asking her to delete the tweet.
आगरा में 48 घंटे में भर्ती हुए 28 कोरोना मरीजों की मृत्यु हो गई।
यूपी सरकार के लिए कितनी शर्म की बात है कि इसी मॉडल का झूठा प्रचार करके सच दबाने की कोशिश की गई।
सरकार की नो टेस्ट=नो कोरोना पॉलिसी पर सवाल उठे थे लेकिन सरकार ने उसका कोई जवाब नहीं दिया..1/2https://t.co/7fik34LrHh
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 22, 2020
On 23 June, she posted another tweet claiming that the Covid mortality rate in Agra is higher than in Delhi and Mumbai.
आगरा में कोरोना से मृत्युदर दिल्ली व मुंबई से भी अधिक है। यहाँ कोरोना से मरीजों की मृत्यदर 6.8% है। यहाँ कोरोना से जान गंवाने वाले 79 मरीजों में से कुल 35% यानि 28 लोगों की मौत अस्पताल में भर्ती होने के 48 घण्टे के अंदर हुई है।
‘आगरा मॉडल’ का झूठ फैलाकर इन विषम परिस्थितियों..1/2 pic.twitter.com/HUMx9LNU1q
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) June 23, 2020
During the early phases of lockdown, the Yogi government had publicly praised the Agra model, but it seems to be collapsing.
Of the 84 deaths Agra reported, 28 took place only this month. Its mortality rate of 7 per cent is more than double the state’s 3.10 per cent — and higher than Delhi (3.35 per cent) and Mumbai (5.69 per cent), but these cities have over nearly 60 times higher number of cases.
Agra had reported its first Covid patient on 3 March, but no one died from it until April, when 14 people lost their lives. Another 28 deaths occurred in May and June (so far) each. The patients were from all age groups.
Also read: Now, Thane, Navi Mumbai wrestle with Covid surge, find ‘a Mumbai contact’ in most cases