Several parts of Chittoor district which witnessed slack adherence to face mask and physical distancing rules when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak between July and October last year, is witnessing an altogether a new scenario with majority of the people now following the guidelines in public places, thanks to the talk of a second wave.
Wednesday saw 128 positive cases in the district, the highest this year, reported from 39 of the 66 mandals. Srikalahasti, which was a hotspot with maximum number of cases last year, once again started witnessing a spike in the daily cases.
The corporations of Tirupati and Chittoor continue to take the first and second places in daily cases. Chittoor district’s tally so far stood at 88,624 cases, including 859 deaths, the highest in the State.
Awareness campaign
The district COVID-19 Task Force on Wednesday launched an awareness campaign on “Face mask rule” at the busy Government Hospital junction at Puttur.
Task Force Special Officer P. Ravi Raju, pulmonologist P. Amarnatha Reddy, medical and paramedical staff of Nagari, Puttur and surrounding mandals took part in the campaign.
Dr. Raju told the media that the sudden spike in positive cases every day since a month had clearly led to fear among the public. “During our inspections in Puttur, Nagari, Nindra, Narayanavanam and other areas bordering with Tamil Nadu, we could find good response from the public to the face mask rule. At this time of resurgence of cases, the best deterrent to avoid the spread of virus is by wearing a face mask. Due to our campaign, the number of people wearing mask is increasing, and by the next few days we hope to achieve cent per cent results,” he said.
The official said that apart from holding meetings with the police, revenue, APSRTC, owners of shopping complexes and cinemas, the awareness campaign covered hundreds of drivers of autorikshaws, cabs and school buses, taking a pledge from them to adhere to the face mask rule, considering the safety of schoolchildren.
“Our campaign series have also covered parents, teachers and gram and ward volunteers,” the official said.
Dr. Reddy said that during the last one week, the number of beneficiaries taking the vaccine under the first and second target groups (above 60 years, and 45-59 with co-morbidities) was steadily on the rise.
“We are confident that by the next couple of weeks, the response would cross 70%,” he added.
