Agra's top medical officer removed as Covid-19 cases surge

The Uttar Pradesh government has replaced Agra's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the wake of current Covid-19 situation prevailing in the city.

"Special Officer Dr. RC Pandey to take charge as Agra Chief Medical Officer with immediate effect, replacing Dr. Mukesh Kumar Vats. The decision has been taken considering the current situation prevailing in Agra due to spread of Covid-19," the order from state chief secretary Amit Mohan Prasad said.

Uttar Pradesh reported five more coronavirus deaths on Sunday as 102 fresh cases surfaced, pushing the state's infection tally to 3,467. So far, 79 people have died of the infection in the state.

A health department official had said on Sunday that three deaths were reported from Agra and two from Meerut, the worst-hit districts in terms of fatalities.

Till now, Agra has reported the maximum 24 Covid-19 deaths. Agra has so far reported 764 corona positive cases; 13 fresh cases were reported on Sunday.

So far, 1,653 Covid-19 patients have been discharged after treatment while the count of the active cases in Uttar Pradesh stands at 1,753, according to state health department.

Meanwhile, 12 inmates of the Agra Central jail tested positive for the deadly virus on Sunday night.

"We had sent 24 samples of prisoners for lab testing and out of these, 12 reported corona positive by the SN Medical College (SNMC). Now, fresh samples have been collected for lab testing at the National Jalma Institute for Leprosy," news agency IANS quoted Deputy Inspector-General (Prisons) Luv Kumar as saying.

On Saturday, a 60-year-old convict of the Agra Central Jail, who was tested positive for corona, had died during treatment at the SN Medical College.

The Covid-19 positive cases form the central jail have caused considerable worry for the health officials, indicating the possibility of community transmission in the prison which is now being sanitised.

(Inputs and image from hindustantimes.com)