Lucknow, Jan 8 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh's COVID-19 tally climbed to 5,91,610 on Friday with 775 fresh cases while the death toll surged to 8,469 as 17 more people succumbed to the disease.

The state capital of Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 130, a health department bulletin stated.

Of the 17 deaths, three were reported from Lucknow, two from Varanasi and one each from Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Ayodhya, Pratapgarh, Farrukhabad, Sambhal, Bagpat and Kaushambi, it said.

There are 11,535 active cases in the state. Of these, 4,713 are in home isolation and 1,056 in private hospitals, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

So far, 5,71,606 people have fully recovered and been discharged from hospitals. The state's recovery rate stands at 96.62 per cent, he said.

On Thursday, Prasad said, Uttar Pradesh became the first state to conduct over 2.50 crore tests.

In a review meeting with senior officials, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed satisfaction over the number of tests conducted so far and stressed that testing plays an important role in breaking the chain of transmission.

He directed the officials to maintain vigil at every level and regularly monitor preparations for inoculation across districts.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)