In light of the rising number of novel coronavirus patients in Agra, the much-touted 'Agra model' appears to have gone bust. The state leadership is worried about the worsening Covid-19 outbreak in Agra, but apart from the appointment of a nodal officer to oversee the lockdown protocols, there has hardly been any improvement in the state of affairs.
At present, there are 401 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Agra. Out of these, a significant number of patients have recovered. But 11 patients have died as well, including a 25-year-old boy who succumbed to the infection on Monday. While the boy's family accused the SN Medical College staff of carelessness, authorities at the SNMC claimed that the boy was already suffering from a respiratory disorder, and died as the result of a heart attack.
Nodal officer of the SN Medical College, Dr Ashish Gautam told India Today that the boy was admitted to the facility on April 23 and is now the youngest person to have died from Covid-19 in Agra.
A female police cook, a senior journalist, and five employees of the excise department are among the 20 patients who tested positive for the infection on Monday. Police sources said that there were six cooks in the Police Lines Mess where as many as 150 police personnel dine each day. Out of the six, two cooks have tested positive to date, while 94 police constables have been quarantined. Samples of all cooks and police constables have been sent for testing.
With the Agra administration allowing two private pathology labs to conduct tests for Covid-19, locals can be seen getting themselves tested voluntarily. Out of over two dozen tests, eight samples have tested positive for the virus so far. But the test is priced expensively at Rs 4500 per sample which makes it unaffordable for many in these difficult circumstances.
Integrated Command & Control Centre in Agra Smart City has transformed into District Control Room for fight against COVID19. It offers doorstep delivery of items of daily need, security services, detection of loitering, medical assistance & other services to citizens.
District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh assured India Today a mobile unit will soon begin the door-to-door collection of pool samples. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bablu Kumar said that vendors who sell vegetables, milk, and fruits among other essential items will be called to an open ground where they will be sanitized and sampled in a pool through three mobile units and rapid response teams.
Residents of Agra's Covid-19 hotspots will be tested at home and a mobile unit will ensure door-to-door collection of samples. As many as 150 samples will be collected by a team of five each day.
Meanwhile, a group of 41 people placed in institutional quarantine in a facility on the Agra-Luckow highway staged a sit-in inside the facility demanding they be tested so that they can go home if they test negative. However, Sub-Divisional Magistrate VK Gupta, who reached the spot, said that it is yet to be decided when these people will be tested, but the quarantine rules have changed and now the quarantine duration is 28 days. These people will be screened once again, but it is hard to tell when their samples will be collected.
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