Lucknow, Nov 20 (IANS): Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh have started showing an upward trend with Meerut leading the list.

Meerut has reported a 126 per cent increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in the past 15 days.

Dr Ved Prakash, head of department in the pulmonary critical care medicine wing at the King George's Medical University said, "Meerut is a city where people in large numbers visit other places, particularly Delhi."

Other districts that have shown a rise in daily cases in the last two weeks include Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad.

"We are studying the travel pattern, which could be one reason why cases are going up, and will soon devise a fresh strategy for Meerut," said Prakash, who is also the OSD for Meerut medical college.

The number of deaths has also increased among Covid patients.

According to the state health department data this week, 21 deaths were reported on Monday; 20 on Tuesday; 29 on Thursday and 40 were reported on Thursday.

The active cases in the state also increased from 21,954 on Wednesday to 22,757 on Thursday.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad, said the state government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to check the second wave of Covid-19 in the state.

Apart from collecting samples, increase in testing, surveillance across the state and contact tracing is being carried out to break the infection chain, he said.

In Lucknow, the lack of social distancing is stated to be a big factor behind rising cases.

Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, association of international doctors, said, "People have virtually stopped following the Covid-19 protocol and hardly maintain distance when out in the market."