Lucknow, Apr 5 (IANS): With 75 more people being confirmed positive for the Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the total number of Corona cases in the state has risen to 257.

Of the total cases, at least 98 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi.

The state's count on Friday was 177 and two people -- one each in Basti and Meerut -- have died.

According to Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad, there has been a steep rise in the cases in the past two days, primarily because of a number of those linked to the Tablighi Jamaat testing positive.

Cases have been reported from Agra, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Varanasi, Shamli, Baghpat, Ghazipur, Pratapgarh, Saharanpur, Banda, Maharajganj, Hathras and Mirzapur on Saturday.

The overall district-wise tally since the coronavirus crisis began is -- Gautam Buddha Nagar (58), Agra (44), Meerut (25), Ghaziabad (14), Saharanpur (13), Lucknow (10), Kanpur (7), Bareilly, Shamli and Maharajganj (6 each), Basti, Varanasi (5 each), Firozabad and Hathras (4 each), Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Bulandshahr, Pratapgarh (3 each), Pilibhit, Mirzapur, Baghpat (2 each), Shahjahanpur Hardoi, Hapur, Moradabad, Lakhimpur Kheri and Banda (1 each).

Prasad said that the numbers are rising because of aggressive testing.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said a total of 1,281 people associated with the Jamaat have been identified, of which 977 have been quarantined.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hold a video conference with religious leaders of different districts on Sunday, Awasthi said.

The chief minister has directed that in places which have been identified as hotspots, the district magistrates should launch all out efforts to minimize the load of infection to ensure that the disease is controlled.

Fire brigade teams who have been involved in sanitization work have started working in Lucknow and other districts.