Doctors are upset over violation of social distancing norms by people in the city. They are responding to a photo published in these columns on Monday showing heavy crowd at the RK Beach.
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Speaking to The Hindu , District COVID Special Officer and Principal of Andhra Medical College P.V. Sudhakar said this was inappropriate behaviour as the second wave was yet to subside.
According to the senior doctors of the KGH, during the first wave, the daily cases fell to single digit from December 2020. And the same level was maintained till the first week of March, until the arrival of the second wave. “But in the present scenario, the positivity rate continues to be around 3%, and we fear that even before the second wave subsides, the third wave will be upon us,” they said.
The medical fraternity is also surprised with the sero surveillance survey of the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) that has stated that 70% have already become immune to the virus.
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This is sending wrong signal and people are becoming bold and are throwing the COVID-19 appropriate behaviour to the wind, they say.
Many of the doctors pointed out that the survey sample size was very small and not representative and there is no clarity whether the antibodies developed are because of the vaccine or the result of the infection.
54 new cases
Meanwhile, the district recorded 54 new infections in the last 24 hours, as on Monday morning. This has taken the total count to 1,53,178 cases, so far in the district. No death was recorded during the same period, keeping the count to 1,053.
As many as 108 persons were discharged or have recovered, taking the total discharges to 1,50,512. As on Monday morning, the active cases stood at 1,611.