Agra: The number of Covid-19 cases has crossed the 300-mark in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra and called into question the containment model followed in the city that the Centre lauded this month and asked other states to learn from it. The model was praised for its proactive approach in identifying cases, intensive testing, door-to-door surveys and strict quarantine measures that helped Agra halt the spread of Covid-19.
Agra is the worst-hit city by the pandemic in Uttar Pradesh, which had 324 Covid-19 cases as of Wednesday.
SP Singh Baghel of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, who represents Agra in Parliament, called for finding the “leakage” in the model. “The initial stress was on the supply of essential items and people had faith in the model which also earned applause from... Union ministry of health. But no one had guessed there would be such a rise in the number of cases in Agra, which has crossed the 300-mark and now stands at 313,” said Baghel.
Baghel said the paramedical staff was justifiably asking for gloves, masks and other personal protection equipment as two dozen health workers have tested positive for the disease in Agra. “If front-line corona warriors like the medical staff and police personnel test positive, then who would look after the preventive measures?” he said.
Vivek Sarabhoi, the convenor of the voluntary Covid-19 Agra Support initiative, said, “There is a huge gap between what needs to be done and what actually is being done.”
{{/usCountry}}Vivek Sarabhoi, the convenor of the voluntary Covid-19 Agra Support initiative, said, “There is a huge gap between what needs to be done and what actually is being done.”
{{/usCountry}}District magistrate Prabhu N Singh defended the model and insisted the administration was on the right track. He said the stress was on testing more people as the source of the infection spread was known in all cases.
Singh maintained there was no community spread of the disease so far. He added they were holding a series of meetings with the stakeholders and new guidelines were being issued in consultations with experts. ‘We have decided to keep suspected patients in institutional quarantine after having their samples tested so that they can be moved into isolation once they test positive,” he said. “A dedicated five-member team of the Indian Medical Association will ensure compliance with the Covid-19 protocol at private hospitals.”
The model was implemented as six patients tested positive for Covid-19 in Agra on March 3 when India had only 30-odd cases. It involved door-to-door surveys, identification of suspected cases, and quarantining. A list of people with foreign travel was drawn up and their families and other close contacts were identified. A three-km area around Covid-19 hotspots was declared containment zones with five-km area as the buffer.