Agra, Jul 19 (IANS): The 55-hour long weekend lockdown in the Taj city is helping the district authorities to take a breather and step up sanitisation and cleanliness drive in the 93 containment zones.

In the last 24 hours, 18 fresh Covid-19 cases were added taking Agra's tally to 1,486. The recovery rate has stabilised at 82.07 per cent, which is considered encouraging. The number of active cases now is 163.

The new municipal commissioner Nikhil Tikaram Funde has visited many areas in the city and directed the sanitation workers to ensure hygiene standards were met meticulously so that contamination during the rainy season could be effectively checked.

Funde said his top priority was cleanliness. "Agra is infamous for dirt, squalor and ubiquitous garbage dumps which are an eyesore," an official added.

For the first time in its 200 year old history, the Lord Shiva bhakts would be disappointed as the administration has not permitted the annual Kailash fair due to the coronavirus outbreak.

BJP legislator Purushottam Khandelwal has said all markets would remain open on Monday, as Kasganj reported 21 fresh cases of Covid-19, Mathura 4, Mainpuri 17, Etah 6.

The state government has asked the health department to carry out rapid antigen tests in all Uttar Pradesh districts. The private hospitals have been directed to open a separate ward for Covid-19 patients, with infrastructural support comprising 24x7 doctor, paramedic staff and a pharmacist.