The lockdown will continue during the extended period till May 3, as it has been observed till date. This was confirmed to The Hindu by District Collector V. Vinay Chand, here on Tuesday.
There will be no change in the observation of the lockdown, but it is going to be a bit more vigorous, as we are entering a very critical stage, he said.
According to him, the window period for citizens will continue from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., as usual, and the extended rythu bazaars will continue to function.
“We are in a crucial phase right now at least till April 20, when the Union government will review the situation. Based on the review considering various factors such as causative factors, speed of spread or descend, risky factors, community prevalence and high risk area behaviour, further decision on lockdown will be taken,” said Mr. Vinay Chand.
In the meantime, efforts are being made for mass testing, not only in containments areas but in other areas also.
The target is to test at least 450 persons on a daily basis. The virology lab in KGH is all ready, but all tests need not be sent to the lab, he said.
Only select cases such as primary contacts with a positive case, 60 plus symptomatic cases, symptomatic with co-morbidity and those who have some issue in the primary screening will be sent to the virology lab.
According to the District Collector, teams with Truenat TB test kits will be making rounds for the primary screening and anyone who is diagnosed with mild symptoms will be sent for further RT-PCR test at KGH.
“We have about three Truenat centres one each at Narsipatnam, Anakapalle and Vizag with about 16 machines and the tests will be more vigorous from now,” he said.
The District Collector has appealed that persons with mild symptoms such as fever, dry cough, breathlessness and running nose, should immediately approach KGH or GHCCD. “It could be a combination of all or even one, it is advisable to visit the hospitals to avoid the risk of getting possibly infected and infecting others. The onus is on us,” he said.