Agra, Sep 7 (IANS): The state government-run hospitals and the medical infrastructure, newly created to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, have come under tremendous strain as the number of fresh cases in the past 10 days has continued to surge alarmingly.

The Covid ward at the S.N. Medical College is already full. The authorities are now gearing up to open up a new ward. Doctors at the medical college hospital have been complaining of a short supply of Oxygen. The private nursing homes are also feeling the pinch of Oxygen supply.

As testing of Covid-19 has gone up in the district from just a few hundred to over 2,500 daily, the number of cases also have shown an alarming upward trend. In the past 24 hours, Agra reported 85 new cases. The total active cases are now 615 and the recovery rate has fallen to 78.55 per cent. So far, 2,652 have been discharged after recovery. The number of samples tested so far is 1,32,684.

Mathura reported the highest number in the area with 96 cases and one death in the last 24 hours. Firozabad reported 79, Mainpuri 48, Kasganj 21 and Etah 18 cases.

The Sunday lockdown saw Agra markets closed and traffic heavily curtailed. The three-day Sero-survey concluded on Sunday with 320 more samples. The antibody tests will help determine the extent of infection. The blood samples were being sent to the ICMR for analysis.

Meanwhile, the Lady Loyal women's hospital was sealed for two days after a 40-year-old staff nurse succumbed to Covid-19. Two senior doctors of the medical college also tested positive. A number of health workers have been quarantined after they tested positive on Sunday.