Lucknow, Jun 21 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government has now relaxed the condition for the discharge of asymptomatic coronavirus patients from hospitals, saying they will be permitted to go home after 10 days but remain quarantined at their residences for seven more days.

Till now, such patients had to spend 14 days in institutional quarantine and wait for two consecutive tests to be negative.

However, symptomatic patients still have to test negative on the 12th day for discharge.

Health Principal Secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said: "Patients with no symptoms can be discharged after 10 days but will have to stay in home quarantine for seven days. Symptomatic patients will only be allowed to go home after their Covid-19 report is negative."

According to a government bulletin, the state has 1,01,236 isolation beds, of which 5,661 are occupied.

The Supreme Court had earlier pulled up the UP government for the mandatory institutional quarantine of patients with no symptoms. "Don't put asymptomatic people in quarantine; you will have a big problem. Noida is doing it and the UP government is in a denial mode," the court said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered that "doctors posted on administrative posts may also be considered for clinical jobs".

He also instructed officials to ensure surveillance system was made more effective and that the number of surveillance committees should be increased to 1 lakh.

"He asked health and medical education departments along with district administrations to work in this direction as it will be an important effort to break the infection chain," a government spokesman said.