Andhra Pradesh: District collector declares 28 day lockdown at Srikalahasti

Sandeep Raghavan | TNN | Updated: Apr 13, 2020, 20:14 IST

People buying eggs from a makeshift market during the nationwide lockdown in Vijayawada on Sunday.(ANI photo)

TIRUPATI: Following a spike in the number of positive coronavirus cases, Chittoor district collector Dr Narayana Bharat Gupta declared a 28-day lock-down period at the world renowned pilgrim town Srikalahasti starting from Monday.
The announcement came from the district collector after two fresh cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in the Srikalahasti constituency on Monday. The overall number of Covid-19 cases in Chittoor district has gone up to 31.
The two patients who tested positive are the family members of a Jamaat member who returned back to the district and was placed under quarantine since then.
The district collector who held a review meet with the municipal officials in Srikalahasti directed them to ensure fool-proof sanitation measures are in place. The officials were also directed to enforce a strict lock-down in the Srikalahasti constituency where five COVID-19 positive cases were detected and were under treatment.
Speaking to reporters after the review, Dr Narayana Bharat Gupta said that the lock-down will be extended in the constituency irrespective of whatever decision is taken at the national level.
''We have the responsibility to prevent the further outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the region. The first COVID-19 patient in Chittoor district who was located in Srikalahasti area was treated and was discharged recently. Apart from him, there are four positive cases reported here, and we must quickly isolate and quarantine all those who came in contact with all the COVID-19 positive patients in the constituency'', he asserted.