The Agra district administration’s concerted efforts and coordinated execution of the multi-dimensional strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19, has begun to show results. On Monday, the number of containment zones came down to 54 from 64. And the city reported a recovery rate of over 80 percent.
District Magistrate P.N. Singh is being credited for being proactive and taking effective steps to bridge the communication gaps, though problems and complaints about testing facilities continue to pour in. “It has taken 100 days to learn and gear up to respond effectively to situations. Better monitoring and prompt response of the medical teams are now helping us control the community spread,” a senior official said.
Though communication and mobility have increased and the bazaars have more or less resumed normal operations, the transmission of the infection has largely been controlled to identified hotspots. “But this is not to say that there are no problems. A visit to the district hospital and the sample collection center nearby, tells the sordid story. People have to wait endlessly without basic facilities to give samples. A large number of patients are sent back home as their symptoms are not considered worth sampling,” a medical activist Shravan Singh said.
With nine new cases of COVID-19, the total number of cases in the Taj city has gone up to 1,219 in the last 24 hours. However, there has been no increase in the number of fatalities which stand at 85.
The total number of patients discharged so far is 1,017. Health officials said the number of samples tested is 22,063.
The health activists, however, have questioned the administration about the decreasing number of tests, especially when the facilities for testing have increased. Against the capacity of 800 to 1,000 only around 350 samples were being tested daily, said the activists. The nodal officer denied the charge and clarified that so far 25,000 samples had been tested, and as per the need the size would be increased.
The district authorities said the focus now would be on pool sampling. From July 5, the state government has directed a survey of all families. The Health department teams will go from home to home, thermal screening and measuring oxygen levels in each member of the family. On Monday, the department claimed more than 10,000 people in over 2,500 families had been tested and provided medical consultation.
