Most people remained indoors in the Zilla Parishad Colony and its surroundings as advised by the health officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after a student, a London returnee, tested positive for the disease.
A battery of health workers completed a survey, covering over 12,000 persons in the core zone as also in the peripheral areas as per protocol, after Prakasam district reported first coronovirus case.
The student’s father, mother and sister were kept under observation, Prakasam District Medical and Health Officer K. Padmavathi said.
Woman tests negative
Meanwhile, a 47-year-woman, who returned from the U.S. and admitted to the Government General Hospital’s COVID-19 isolation ward, tested negative for the disease.
Four persons with foreign travel history were identified during the survey conducted in the ZP Colony cluster, taking the number of persons put in home quarantine to 270 in the district.
As many as 30 persons with foreign travel history completed 27 days home isolation.
Long queues
Ahead of the ‘Janata curfew’ announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, people waited in long queues before supermarkets to get their quota of essential commodities.
Entry of customers into D-Mart and other supermarkets, after subjecting them to screening with thermal scanners, was restricted to ensure social distancing by shoppers.
“We have been instructed to allow only 20 persons at a time,” said a private security guard at a supermarket where people in hundreds do shopping at any given point of time.
Temples in the city, including the famous Lawyerpet Sai Baba temple, closed down early after completion of rituals to avoid crowding. Cinema theatres remained closed as also gymnasiums and swimming pools in the city.
Health officials advised people to clean their hands with alcohol-based hand rub, or with soap and water, to kill viruses. People were also asked not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth before cleaning their hands thoroughly and frequently. It is necessary to maintain a distance of at least one metre from each other to avoid contracting the disease.
‘Situation under control’
In Nellore district, a whopping 793 persons with foreign travel history were put in home quarantine.
“The health situation is well under control. An student who returned from Italy is responding well to treatment. Four other persons who have been admitted to the COVID-19 isolation ward tested negative for the disease, and no fresh case is reported from anywhere in the district,” Joint Collector V. Vinod Kumar said.
