Agra Steps Up Anti-Covid Measures Amid Omicron Scare

With the city of Taj being an attractive tourist destination for foreigners, the Agra administration has asked all city hotels to keep it apprised of all their overseas guests amid the worldwide scare of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 2 December 2021 12:52 pm

Stepping up its anti-Covid vigil amid the Omicron scare, the city administration has also upgraded its anti-Covid mechanism to subject travellers to RT-PCR tests at bus and railway stations and monuments, an Agra Health Department official said on Thursday.

“We have also arranged facilities for vaccination at the Taj Mahal and Agra Cantt Railway Station, besides some other places,” said Agra Chief Medical Officer Arun Kumar Srivastava.

"We have asked city hotels to provide details of travellers coming from foreign countries and alerted local intelligence unit to check the travel history of foreigners staying in Agra,” Dr Srivastava added.

Besides at the Taj Mahal and various city railway stations, foreigners can avail Covid vaccination also at the district’s urban and rural health centres government hospitals, he said.
Agra’s Sarojini Naidu Medical College and Hospital Principal Prashant Gupta too sounded confident of his hospital preparedness to tackle any Covid wave, including that due to the Omicron variant of the virus.

"We are prepared to tackle the Omicron variant of the COVID-19. Have dedicated trained staff and beds in the medical college premises," Dr Gupta said. Talking about the availability of various categories of beds in his hospital, Dr Gupta said,

"There are about 150 beds for Covid patients in its MCH wing while 82 beds are available in its emergency wards.”

“About 100 beds are available in the hospital’s Paediatric Department," said Dr Gupta adding that the hospital has also 107 beds in its Medicine Department for post-Covid patients.

Dr Gupta said he has also four pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generating plants in the medical college premises – one each in its emergency, TB & chest, paediatric and medicine departments. On availability of ventilators.

The hospital has also about 150 ventilators for the treatment of the COVID patients.
Both Dr Gupta and Dr Shrivastava appealed to the city residents to continue wearing masks and taking all other precautions to keep all Covid variants, including Omicron at bay.

With PTI inputs.