Agra, Sep 9 (IANS): All markets in Agra will now remain open except for the weekly off-day, as the Sunday lockdown has been lifted.

The hospitality industry is now gearing up to welcome visitors from September 21 when the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort will be reopened.

Senior-level schools have also been green signalled to start preparations to restart classes in a staggered manner.

However, the surge in numbers of fresh cases of Covid-19 cases in the whole Agra region continued to remain alarming with the Taj city reporting 89 more cases in the past 24 hours.

The neighbouring Mainpuri reported 94 cases, including 44 inmates of the district jail. Firozabad reported 35, Etah 44 and Kasganj 25.

The S. N.Medical College run Covid-19 hospital is under tremendous pressure. After all beds in the first unit were occupied, the authorities had to open the other unit.

The total number of cases in Agra now stands at 3,548. So far 2,742 have been discharged after recovery. The recovery rate has fallen to 77.28 per cent.

From just 12 cases in March, the number till Tuesday has gone up to 647. August saw more than a thousand cases.

The shortage of oxygen remains a major concern. The medical college has now proposed to set up its own oxygen generators to reduce dependence on the market.

Agra District Magistrate P. N. Singh announced Tuesday evening that teams of officials will move around crowded markets and public places to sensitise people about the safety precautions, particularly mask-wearing and social distancing.

The five-day Sero survey in the district concluded Tuesday evening. A total of 1,440 samples have been sent to the KGMU in Lucknow for analysis. The results will be announced by the ICMR.