The district, which had been in the green zone for almost six weeks, was now bracketed under the orange category with the identification three COVID-19 positive cases on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a 60-year-old woman from Chilakalapalli village of Balijipeta mandal in the district tested positive for the virus in Visakhapatnam, where she had gone for undergoing treatment for a kidney disease.
The three new cases were a 24-year-old fisherman who was among the 900 of his ilk who had returned from Veraval in Gujarat, a 39-year-old woman from Duggi village of Sitanagaram mandal, and a 29-year-old woman from Piridi village near Bobbili. The two women, along with their family members, returned from Nellore a few days ago.
While the fisherman, a native of Poosapatirega, was being treated at the Maharaja Institute of Medical Sciences, the women were admitted to MR Government Hospital for treatment.
Social distancing
Influx of migrant workers was said to be the reason for the spurt in positive cases in the district.
With three cases surfacing in a day, the district administration swung into action by conducting tests on the migrant workers while asking them to maintain social distancing at the quarantine centres.
District Collector M. Hari Jawaharlal and Superintendent of Police B. Raja Kumari, in high-level meeting, directed the officials to implement the COVID-19 protocol strictly.
Parvatipuram MLA A. Joga Rao and district panchayat officer K. Suneel Rajkumar visited Chilakalapalli and advised the family members of the kidney patient to be in home quarantine. They advised the villagers to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
In the light of the experience in Vizianagaram, the Srikakulam district administration too swung into action . Around 3,000 migrant workers, who included fishermen from Gujarat, had returned to the district recently and put up at the quarantine centres.
‘Masks, umbrella must’
District Collector J. Nivas directed in-charges of all quarantine centres to conduct medical tests quickly on all the returnees.
As many as 1,000 tests were being conducted every day in the district where five cases had been reported so far. However, all the cases had surfaced prior to the arrival of the migrant workers.
The Collector said that ₹1,000 fine would be imposed on those not wearing masks or carrying an umbrella while standing in the queue lines for buying liquor.