Agra, Jul 30 (IANS): The spurt in fresh cases in the past two weeks, continues to worry the district health task force battling Covid-19 in the Taj city.

A total of 29 fresh cases and a death took the tally to 1,730 and fatalities to 99 on Thursday.

District Magistrate P.N. Singh said that 21 Covid-19 patients were discharged taking the number of recoveries to 1,401. So far 46,641 samples have been collected in the district.

With the new cases reported, the number of active cases now is 229 in Agra.

The state government appointed nodal officer for the district, Alok Kumar, after visiting several hot spots in the city instructed the police officials to issue challan to all those found without masks. He directed the municipal corporation officials to step up cleanliness drive.

Meanwhile, jail authorities in Agra said that sisters would not be allowed to meet their brothers in jails on Raksha Bandhan. According to a new arrangement, women would now need to deposit rakhies in the jail office in envelopes bearing the names of the inmates. These would later be passed to their brothers in the jail.

In another order, those arrested by the police for various offences would have to be tested for Covid-19 before being sent to the temporary jail that has come up in the MD Jain Inter College at the Hari Parbat crossing.