Agra, May 11 (IANS): The corona crisis in Taj city has taken a turn for the worse after 12 inmates of the Agra Central jail tested positive for the deadly virus on Sunday night.

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

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

According to the jail officials, the convict was admitted to the emergency ward of the SNMC on May 3. He had high blood pressure and suffered a brain stroke. His samples were collected and sent for testing on May 4. He was confirmed Covid-19 positive on the evening of May 6.

The corona positive cases form the central jail, meanwhile, have caused considerable worry for the health officials, indicating the possibility of community transmission in the prison which is now being sanitized.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Mukesh Kumar Vats said, "All the new patients have been shifted to an isolation facility. A team of doctors is attending on them. Their contacts are being identified. We will conduct a health check of all these people."

Agra, so far, has reported 764 corona positive cases in the district, turning it into the COVID-19 hotspot.

The CMO added, "Till now, 326 people have recovered and discharged from hospital. All the people who had come in contact with any Covid-19 patients are being screened."

Meanwhile, Hamirpur and Farukkhabad districts have reported their first corona cases.

A man undergoing kidney treatment at a private hospital has tested positive for Covid-19 in Hamirpur district and in Farrukhabad, a man who had returned from Maharashtra has tested positive for the deadly virus.

Hamirpur District Magistrate Gyaneshwar Tripathi said that the man has been admitted to the L 2 hospital in Banda. "We have sealed the village and locals have been home quarantined. We have taken samples of his family members for testing. We are also procuring the details regarding his travel history."

In Farrukhabad, the district administration has sealed the Shamshadabad locality where the corona positive patient lives.