Uttar Pradesh coronavirus update: 26 Covid testing centres to open in Agra

The Agra district administration has decided to open 26 new testing centres, 11 in urban and 15 in rural areas. People on their own can get tested and receive prompt reports from the centres, said Chief Medical Officer (CMO) R. C. Pande.

Presently only three centres S.N. Medical College, JALMA and district hospital tests samples. The increase in the number of centres is likely to report a big spurge in coming days, a doctor said.

A local MLA and a state minister in the Yogi Adityanath government were among the new positive cases as Agra reported 69 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.

The Agra Cantonment authorities have sealed the hospital, which the minister had visited for an hour to inquire into the conditions and facilities available. The premises will be sanitised and cleaned, an official said.

The overall tally stands at 2,970 cases. This includes 107 deaths, 2,409 recovered, and 454 active cases.

The increase in the number of active cases is a major worry. The recovery rate has also declined from 84.25 per cent to 81.63 percent, an Indian Medical Association functionary observed.

Meanwhile, the weekend lockdown will now be restricted to only Sundays, a state government official said.

District Magistrate P. N. Singh has warned shopkeepers to comply with the guidelines or face action. "Those found without masks in the markets, customers, shopkeepers or their staff, will not be spared. Shops could be sealed. Auto-rickshaws could be seized if the drivers or the passengers were found without masks. Random checking will be intensified," said an official.

The historical monuments in Agra, other than the Taj Mahal and the Fort, reopened on Tuesday after 167 days of closure. The number of visitors is likely to increase in coming days, ASI officials said. Basant Kumar, ASI chief in Agra said all necessary precautions were being taken, and the protocol was being strictly adhered to, at these monuments.

After an alarming number of people tested positive in various government offices in August, the administration has streamlined arrangements for sanitation and restricting the entry of people.

More than a 100 health workers have fallen victim to Covid-19 so far. The municipal offices, the Collectorate and the ADA offices have now been sanitised and only 50 per cent staff is being allowed to work on alternative days.

--IANS

bk/dpb