The district has so far recorded 76 COVID-19 positive cases, of which 85-90% are asymptomatic, District Collector V. Vinay Chand told The Hindu on Monday.
“These are cases in which the patients showed no symptoms but yet tested positive for coronavirus. They were fast to recover when kept under normal symptomatic treatment and discharged. In fact, the 12 cases that we discharged in the last two days were mostly such cases,” Mr. Vinay Chand said. In total, there have been 37 discharges and one death so far in the district.
Lockdown 4.0
Talking about ‘Lockdown 4.0’, the Collector said that there will not be any major changes, and that status quo will continue till May 31.
The only change is that it is now up to the State Government to declare red, orange and green zones.
While Visakhapatnam was declared as an orange zone by the Union Government in Lockdown 3.0, there was a spike in the last 15 to 20 days during which the rate of transmission has doubled, he said.
By the end of April, the number of positive cases was close to 30, which has now shot up to 76.
“It is now up to the State Government to take a call on the colour codification,” Mr. Vinay Chand said. According to him, the guidance given by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be followed with some additions from the State Government.
“But there is no change as far as the containment zones are concerned. Everything will be under lockdown in the notified red zones, except for supply of essentials,” he said.
In Visakhapatnam, there are about 29 containment zones as of today. The curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m, will also continue and in non-containment zones, the standalone shops will remain open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What’s allowed
Inter-State travel will be regulated and will be opened only for migrants and stranded people and essential services staff such as medical personnel, with consent between both States.
Inter-district travel will be allowed only for emergency needs. E-commerce firms can deliver non-essential items to red zones and from now on and restaurants will be permitted to operate kitchens for home delivery of food items, he said.
He also said that marriage gatherings will have to strictly adhere to the protocol of social distancing, with only a maximum of 50 guests in attendance. For funerals, a maximum of 20 people will be allowed.
No permission will be granted for social, political, religious, entertainment, academic and cultural gatherings and schools and religious places will also remain closed, Mr. Vinay Chand said. Regarding testing, the Collector said that it will be now more focused and that the emphasis will be on people with co-morbidities, children and people above 60 years and those with respiratory illness.
