The second wave of covid-19 in Agra is closing to an end in the first week of July. On Friday, there was only one positive case found, while four new patients also recovered from the virus.
In the entire Agra district, there are currently only 65 positive cases. The villages have been declared covid-free by the district administration, while the urban areas are now close to getting rid of the virus.
Officially, Agra recorded 453 deaths from covid in both the first and the second waves, although unofficially, the death toll was much higher. On Friday, 9488 people were tested in the Agra district and only one was found infected with the virus. In the district, 11.86 people have undergone testing to date and 25709 have been found infected, out of which 25191 have recovered. The overall recovery rate has been 97.99 percent.
District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh has warned that although the second wave of covid appears to be under control now, the need for vigilance is still there. Going out of the house without a mask should be avoided at all costs and maintaining a physical distance of at least 2 meters from the nearest person in a crowded or public place should be a rule of thumb. He said that those who have not yet been vaccinated should get the vaccine soon, as the vaccine is the biggest weapon against covid in the absence of any anti-viral treatment.
In the Bah tehsil area of Agra, 146 people were tested, but none of them were found infected, which is a clear indication that the infection has receded from the rural areas of the Agra division. 100 people were also vaccinated in the area.
Talking to Agra24, senior physician Dr. Suresh Kushwaha said that the virus may have burned through most of the population of Agra in the second wave, and if a serosurvey is conducted, a large portion of the population will be found carrying covid antibodies in their blood. However, he said, having antibodies in the blood does not make someone immune from the virus and there is still a high chance that coming in close contact with an infected person could still infect you, despite having been infected with the virus previously.
Dr. Kushwaha stressed the need to stay cautious even while the virus is not raging through the district, and said that personal hygiene and mental positivity are very important in this war against the virus.