IAS Roshan Jacob Takes Charge As Lucknow DM After Current Appointee COVID-19 Positive

IAS officer Dr Roshan Jacob was appointed the District Magistrate (DM) of Lucknow after current appointee Abhishek Prakash tested positive for COVID-19, reports said Saturday.

Jacob is also the Special Secretary and Director of Geology and Mining, Uttar Pradesh. She previously served as the DM of Kanpur between 2014 and 2015.

The news of Jacob's appointment comes amid a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases in India, making it the second worst-hit country in the world. As of April 17, 8:00 am, the number of active cases was recorded at 16,79,740, taking the total tally to 1,45,26,609.

Roshan Jacob Takes Charge In Lucknow As The City Grapples With COVID-19 Spike

UP is among the states leading a rise in national count, alongside Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka. Latest data suggests a log of 27,360 daily cases.

Reports from Lucknow are painting a solemn picture, with active cases having crossed 40,000 on Friday. As per The Indian Express, there is a severe shortage of hospital beds, medicine, oxygen supplies and crematorium facilities in the city as affected persons mount in number.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who said he had tested COVID-19 positive on Wednesday, earlier this week ordered for a special COVID-19 hospital with 1000-bed facilities to be set up in Lucknow.

"Besides this, the availability of medical personnel, COVID beds, medicines, medical equipments and oxygen should always be maintained in every district," a spokesperson for the UP government was quoted saying Friday.

Image Credit: eGov Magazine 

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