Chittoor district is absolutely safe from the dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19), with not even a single suspected case so far, said officials of the Medical and Health Department, exhorting people not to pay heed to rumours on social media.
“The rumours are spreading on social media much faster than the virus itself,” said an official who did not want to be named.
On Thursday, residents of six villages at Yerravaripalem were worried over rumours that a man from the mandal who was working in China had gone missing at the Bengaluru airport after arriving there last week. The rumours sparked panic in the area, with residents finally calming down after officials clarified that no such development had taken place.
District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) M. Penchalaiah told The Hindu that since January-end, 25 persons, who had arrived from foreign trips, were screened upon their arrival at Tirupati airport.
“All the cases were put under surveillance at their houses itself while the paramedical staff were asked to monitor the cases. After 28 days, 18 of them were declared free from COVID-19 infection. Surveillance on seven more would be lifted in a couple of days,” the DMHO said.
Busting myths
The officials also sought to bust several myths doing the rounds that eating a particular diet would increase chances of contracting the virus. “As per the Government of India guidelines, the public can eat any non-vegetarian food, ice-creams, and beverages of their choice,” he said.
Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a steady rise in the sales of masks, handkerchiefs, and general medicines related to cold and cough. “Generally, the sale of medicines related to cold and cough would peak from December till the first week of March. Compared to the previous three years, this year, the sales have gone up by 25%,” said Dhananjay, owner of a medical shop in Chittoor.
The panic over COVID-19 has also led to a heavy influx of mothers carrying their toddlers to government hospitals at all mandals, particularly in the western side. “We cannot leave anything to chance,” said Nirmala, a woman who brought her infant to a government hospital here.
Changing behaviour
Passengers on APSRTC buses, unlike earlier, are reluctant to board crowded buses and are willing to wait for a less crowded bus. “The travel patterns of commuters has changed a lot. Now, they are avoiding holding the support bars and panels. The number of passengers wielding handkerchiefs has also gone up,” said a conductor on the Satyavedu-Bengaluru route.
Interestingly, some schoolteachers, both government and private, are said to be starting their classes with a message to the students asking them to avoid handshakes and instead adopting the ‘Namaskar’ gesture.