The district woke up to yet another positive case emerging from Yadava Street in A. Rangampet village, located 17 km from Tirupati.
This became the first coronavirus case in Chandragiri, which had largely remained unaffected thus far, in spite of sharing borders with Tirupati and Srikalahasti that have several red zones. Several officials, including the TUDA Vice-Chairman S. Harikrishna and Officer on Special Duty Bhaskar Naidu underwent COVID-19 test using the rapid test kits.
As the vicinity has been marked red zone, TUDA Chairman and local legislator Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy distributed to the residents essentials worth ₹7 lakh necessary for a month, while appealing to them not to venture out.
Meanwhile, the entire town of Srikalahasti has been marked red zone, in view of the spurt in the number of cases. Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta, who visited the town along with other officials, berated the youth for violating lockdown norms and risking the lives of elders at home. All the 660 samples taken in the town yesterday turned negative, which came as a breather.
In Tirupati, MCT Commissioner P.S. Girisha ordered all ward secretariat staff, MCT staff and sanitary workers to undergo COVID-19 test using the rapid test kits. Screening these employees would eliminate possible carriers among the executing agencies, thus helping prevent its spread in the community, he said, urging them to wear masks and gloves without fail.
