UP: 1st Covid-19 death in Firozabad, 71 test positive in Agra region

AGRA: Agra district, Uttar Pradesh's "Covid-19 epicentre", and its surrounding areas continued to be in the grip of the deadly virus. Firozabad reported its first Covid-19 death on Sunday, while Agra and its neighbouring districts of Firozabad, Etah and Mathura reported a total of 71 positive cases. The total cases in Agra district alone has reached 255 - with 56 fresh ones.The cases in Etah were a first for the district.
Also, alarmingly, among Sunday's new cases included a senior section engineer (SSE) of carriage and wagon-mechanical department posted at Tundla junction - a vital railway operation control centre of the Delhi-Howrah route.
In Firozabad, the 65-year-old deceased was a resident of Chetiwali Masjid, Shishgram. He was suffering from hypertension and, after testing positive, was admitted to Firozabad medical college isolation ward on Saturday evening. He suffered a heart attack at 6:40am on Sunday.
Chief medical officer (CMO) of Firozabad Dr SK Dixit told TOI, “The deceased man came in direct contact with Tablighi Jamaat members and tested positive. He succumbed following a heart attack. We have started contact tracing and have quarantined his family and other contacts. Sample collection has been done as well.”
The Firozabad district reported 11 more Covid-19 cases, including that of the railway SSE, taking the district tally to 52. Most of the patients were related to a private hospital in Agra, which reported 43 cases.
According to local administration, the railway SSE had visited the Agra hospital along with his father-in-law on March 31. On April 7, the officer’s father-in-law died. He was suffering from cancer. On April 10, Agra district administration asked the officer’s relatives to contact the local administration of Firozabad for sample collection and get themselves quarantined. On April 14, six family members of the officer’s father-in-law were found Covid-19 positive. The officer’s duty record, however, showed that he continued to work at Tundla railway station till April 13.
On April 16, the railway officer contacted Firozabad district administration and informed about his travel history, after which he was asked to be in quarantine. And, on Sunday, he was tested positive. He was then shifted to isolation facility.
North Central Railways CPRO Ajeet Kumar Singh said, “Five others who came in direct contact with the SSE have been asked to quarantine themselves immediately. Contact tracing and sanitisation work have been initiated.”
Meanwhile, in Agra district, 56 new Covid-19 positive cases surfaced taking the tally past the 200 mark. Out of the new cases, 21 were related to the private hospital and five linked to Jamaat. According to health department, three cases each were traced to another private hospital in Rakabganj and of S N Medical College. Moreover, a vegetable seller in Freeganj and a staff of wholesale pharmacy in Fuwara were reported positive.
Agra CMO Dr Mukesh Kumar Vats said, “All the 56 new Covid-19 patients have been shifted to an isolation facility. Their contacts are being identified and traced.”
Significantly, on Sunday, Etah district for the first time reported three Covid-19 positive cases, of which two were linked to the Agra private hospital. Etah CMO Dr Ajay Agrawal said, “One of the patients, a 20-year-old resident of Jalesar, works as a compounder at the Agra private hospital. His 36-year-old uncle has been tested positive too, while a 55-year-old woman of Marahara who stayed in Tajganj along with her daughter, was also found positive.”
In Mathura, there was a positive case as well, which took the district's tally to six. Mathura CMO Sher Singh said, "A 30-year-old man tested positive on Sunday. He hails from Ol village of the district's Farah block. The man used to visit medical stores for supplying medicines in Agra and Mathura."