As cases rise, aggressive testing in Andhra red zones

In Kurnool, 292 coronavirus cases have been reported, while Guntur has 237 cases and Krishna has 210. The three districts account for 63 per cent of the total 1,177 cases in Andhra Pradesh.

In all three districts, the infection has spread mainly in congested areas, and where people were lax in maintaining social distancing and broke lockdown restrictions, officials said.

On Monday, 13 new cases were reported in Kurnool — a small relief for officials after days of reporting 30-40 cases daily. About 5,500 tests have been conducted in Kurnool town and Nandyala till Monday.

Dr Rama Giddaya, Kurnool District Health and Medical Officer, said, “There is an increase in the number of cases because we are conducting a lot of tests. Primary and secondary contacts of Tablighi Jamaat returnees caught the infection from them and they are now testing positive. In Kurnool city and Nandyala town, we have identified about 400 primary and secondary contacts and all of them are in quarantine. We expect the number of cases to decrease from today (Monday) as all them have been identified and put in isolation. Almost all the cases in the district can be traced to Delhi-returnees.”

Officials said that initially, people did not maintain social distancing and disobeyed quarantine rules in Kurnool city and Nandyala, due to which the virus spread. On Sunday, six relatives of Kurnool MP and YSRCP leader Sanjeev Kumar tested positive — officials suspect it is the first instance of a community spread in Kurnool city.

In Guntur, officials on Monday resorted to packing off anyone found on the roads without a valid reason in an ambulance and taking them to quarantine centres, even as 23 fresh cases were reported in the district. Guntur District Collector I Samuel Anand Kumar said testing was going on full-scale in the red zones. “In Guntur town, we are seeing a reduction in numbers while Narasaraopet and Varakatta are still a concern. All the cases in the district are linked to Tablighi Jamaat returnees. We have identified all the primary and secondary contacts and are quarantining them and testing them. Once all of them are quarantined and tests are finished in the red zones, we will see a decrease in the number in the district,’’ he said.

Over 7,000 tests have been conducted in Guntur town and Narasaraopeta — the two most affected areas of the district.

Meanwhile, Krishna district saw a spike in the number of cases after two truck drivers — one who had returned from West Bengal, and the other who had returned from Chennai but had a travel history to Dubai — decided to play cards with neighbours.

“Both had no symptoms when they were screened initially but were advised strict home quarantine. They later developed symptoms and tested positive. The first driver infected 25 persons while the second driver… infected 14. Apart from these two cases, about 50 persons returned from the Markaz Nizamuddin meeting and a majority of the cases are their primary and secondary contacts…, Dr R Ramesh, the District Health and Medical Officer said.

Officials said that the infection spread quickly in congested areas of Vijayawada and surrounding areas. They said 7,475 tests have been conducted in the red zones in the district so far.

“It is very disappointing when people disobey the quarantine rules and break social distancing norms and infect people. Due to the callousness of two persons, 40 others were infected. If people do not cooperate then even if government takes all kinds of precautions and does everything, it would be futile,” said Krishna District Collector A Mohammed Imtiaz, who walked around the streets of Krishnalanka area on Sunday appealing to people to stay indoors.

On Monday, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy told mediapersons that 74,551 tests have been conducted in the state so far. The rate of samples testing positive is 1.61 per cent against national average of 4 per cent. He said that out of 676 mandals in the state, only 63 were in the red zone — with five or more cases reported — while 54 were in the orange zone, with 1 to 4 cases reported.