At a time whe the medical and health officials of Chittoor district were heaving a sigh of relief with a “negligible number of daily count” of COVID cases, the threat of Omicron variant has once again kept them on their toes. Unlike other districts, the floating population of pilgrims visiting Tirumala and Srikalahasti has made the task of authorities tough.
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Senior officials on COVID task force duties observed that except for screening the cases arriving at Tirupati airport, tracing the arrival of home-bound passengers through trains and road transport after alighting in Mumbai or New Delhi was proving a Herulean task.
Deputy District Medical and Health Officer P. Ravi Raju said all the government and private hospitals were on alert to any rise in COVID cases and the Omicron threat as well.
The official said that a round-the-clock oxygen facility was in place at all notified hospitals for COVID treatment. “Once again, we have increased the daily tests. Though the number has remained below 20 daily for a few days, all the field staff are instructed to be alert to any rise in their numbers. They have been told to immediately notify the arrival of any foreign returnees into the district, particularly in the rural areas,” he said.
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The Deputy DMHO said that steps would be initiated to clamp the face-mask rule in public. He urged people not to believe rumors about the Omicron variant’s prevalence in the State. “The district has completed 92% of vaccinated target for those above 18 years. We have been continuously monitoring the exercise to cover the remaining target,” he said.