No respite from Covid scourge, as Agra tally crosses 800
Agra: Though relief in restrictions was in store in lockdown-4, but there was little respite for Agra from the scourge of the deadly coronavirus, which so far has claimed 27 lives in the Taj city. With five new cases till late Saturday night, the tally has gone up to 803.
But the good news was that the number of recovered has crossed 500.
District authorities have drawn up a comprehensive strategy for the 44 hotspots. The focus will henceforth be on more tests and more efficient Medicare for people in distress in the containment zones.
Locals are hoping resumption of business outside the hot zones, but district magistrate P.N. Singh said, the state government will release fresh guidelines which would need to be strictly followed. The medical services were being further streamlined and the state of preparedness for any eventuality in the future, was being continuously upped, district health officials claimed on Sunday.
The chief worry, for the moment remains the orderly and human management of the migrant workers passing through Agra. After the Auraiya tragedy on Saturday, authorities restricted the movement of heavy vehicles. Migrants from trains and those walking, were taken into roadways buses to be ferried to their destinations.
Divisional commissioner Anil Kumar has asked the police to ban plying of trucks with migrants. The trucks would not be allowed from midnight to dawn, to ensure those walking on roads remained safe.
Activists providing much needed help to the migrants said it was a shocking spectacle to witness distressed humanity on roads, walking on foot. “In more than 50 days, India has failed to put in place a proper plan of action to transport people back home safely,” said social activist Shravan Kumar Singh.
The state government has already announced a fine of Rs 500, for not wearing masks.
Meanwhile, health teams were combing rural areas to screen outsiders who had entered without medical screening. The elderly population, in the villages has been targeted for screening in the early rounds.
The district administration has begun extensive testing and screening in the district and central jails. More than a 100 have been isolated and a dozen homes quarantined, after two recent deaths. In Mainpuri district five new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, all migrants, has caused widespread alarm. The number in Firozabad has gone up to 198.