With 14 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours, alarm bells have begun to ring in the Taj city. The district authorities have reviewed the grim situation and scaled up testing in the hotspots.
In view of the spike in cases, the authorities have again raised the number of containment and buffer zones to 68. Earlier, the number had dropped to 54.
The new cases have taken the tally to 1,267. Six patients were discharged after recovery. The death toll now stands at 90, while the total number of discharged patients is 1,040. Health officials said the number of active cases now was 137.
The recovery rate is 82.09 per cent.
Indian Medical Association (IMA) secretary doctor Sanjay Chaturvedi said the picture would be clear in eight to ten days. The number of positive cases had gone below ten, but now it has gone up again. As private labs begin testing samples, the cases could go up, he feared.
Increased mobility and opening of markets in Unlock-2, plus the monsoon rains, can further increase the number of cases, health officials indicated.
But the district administration and the screening teams now organising health camps in hotspots were fully prepared to cope with the challenges, they said.
A total of 41 teams surveyed 2,541 homes on Friday, contacting more than 10,000 people who were provided free medicines and consultations.
Three private laboratories are now offering testing facilities. One problem the survey teams faced was wrong addresses and mobile phone numbers recorded by the patients. Rescue teams had now been asked to cross check and verify the details to be able to trace positive cases.