Panic grips the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) as three sanitary inspectors died due to the COVID-19 in the last one week.
Since the last few days, sanitary inspectors of Ward 31 J. Apparao, Ward 57 R. Satyanarayana and Ward 27 (Old 15) B. Krishna Murthy died. Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari and GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana have expressed grief over the deaths and promised all help to the bereaved family members.
‘More field work’
Sanitary inspectors have been playing a crucial role in the fight against the pandemic. After a COVID-19 case comes to light, they are the first ones to react and conduct sanitation in the area. They need to have more interaction with people and have more field work, due to which there is a possibility of they getting infected with the virus, said a senior officer from the GVMC.
GVMC Chief Medical and Officer of Health K.S.L.G. Sastry said that they have been asking the staff to take adequate precautions. Apart from conducting tests, vaccination was also being conducted to the frontline workers, he said. “Despite taking all precautions, it is unfortunate to see some of our employees succumbing to the virus. Following instructions from the Commissioner, we will also send proposals to the government seeking compensation,” he added.
