The month of June was not a good one for the Health Department in Visakhapatnam district. With the reopening of the economy, the number of COVID-19 rose sharply to about 787, and consequently, the tally crossed the 1,000-mark. Officials fear that the situation could worsen in July.
Till May, the number of cases in the district was 113. But in June, on an average 26 new cases were reported per day, with the last day of the month witnessing the biggest single-day spike of 76. Also, four more patients died. There were about 35 cluster containment areas till May-end which increased to 200 by June-end with 84 very active ones.
“Till May-end , the Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), the State nodal COVID hospital which handles only severe cases in north Andhra districts, had about 30 in-patients. By June-end, the number increased to 315,” said VIMS Director, K Satya Varaprasad. People need to be more cautious and stay away from crowded places, he said.
A senior health official said the pandemic is spreading fast.
Area-specific approach
Making an interesting observation, Chief Medical & officer of Health, GVMC, K.S.L.G Sastry, earlier a cluster containment zone used to encompass an area of about three km, but now it could be within 100 metres to 1,000 metres based on the number of cases and the type of locality.
“After two cases were reported near Oxygen Towers at Seethammadhara, the area was fixed at 100 metres, but in densely populated localities such as Dandu bazaar, it was extended to 1,000 metres,” he said.
According to the officials, there are about 10 COVID care centres in the city and a few are being set up in rural areas also. The authorities are planning to increase bed strength from 5,500 to 6,000 in the coming weeks.
Testing might be ramped up, especially in the containment zones. Priority would be given to senior citizens and and those having long-term health issues. The focus would be on early detection to minimise casualties, the officials said.
By June-end, about 77,361 samples had been tested. More than 350 persons are in isolation and about 1,700 persons are in quarantine facilities, they added.
