Panic situation continues to prevail, as five more persons, including three women from various areas of the Visakhapatnam district, tested positive for COVID-19, taking the tally to 20, as per health bulletin released by State government at 10 a.m. on Monday.
According to the officials, among the five new cases, two cases are from Narsipatnam area.
This is for the first time, rural areas have reported a positive case. Two women, basically religious preachers who hail from Tamil Nadu had gone to New Delhi recently and reached Visakhapatnam later. After they developed symptoms, the duo were sent to Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases (GHCCD) and their samples tested positive.
Samples of two more close contacts, including a woman who had come into close contact with an affected person from Thatichetlapalem, also tested positive on Monday. Apart from the four, a person from Gajuwaka also tested positive. Officials suspect that the person might have have contracted the virus from a Tablighi Jamaat returnee at a place of worship in the city. “After the reports, we started sanitising the areas by spraying sodium hypochlorite for disinfection. Surveillance teams with the help of ASHA worker, health official, ward volunteer will conduct door-to-door survey on Tuesday to check whether any person in the respective localities have COVID-19 symptoms.If anybody does, we will shift them to isolation ward,” said Paderu Sub Collector S. Venkateswar, who is monitoring Cluster Containment Committee and Quarantine facilities.
