A curfew-like situation prevailed on Saturday afternoon in Srikakulam district headquarters, as shops and all commercial establishments downed their shutters by 1 p.m.
Paying heed to the suggestion of the district administration, residents confined themselves indoors from 1 p.m. to observe a voluntary lockdown as COVID-19 cases continued to climb in the district. The voluntary lockdown is expected to continue for the next few weeks in Srikakulam, Palasa and Tekkali until cases subside, officials said.
Srikakulam district, which was a green zone with zero COVID-19 cases till the last week of April, has registered 1,662 cases so far. Almost 200 new cases are being reported every day, leading to concern among the public. Initially, the cases were of migrant labourers returning home from other States. Now, the virus is spreading among locals with no prior travel history, say officials.
To prevent the spread of the virus, the district administration has classified many areas as red zones. “People’s voluntary cooperation for partial lockdown every day is a welcome step. It will help control the spread of coronavirus. I request all the people not to come out of their homes from 1 p.m. unless there is a valid reason,” said J. Nivas, Srikakulam Collector.
The Collector told The Hindu that people with COVID-19 symptoms were being put on observation immediately without waiting for the lab results of their tests. “We don’t want to take any chances regarding the spread of COVID-19. That is why we have ramped up testing significantly. We have conducted 1.04 lakh tests so far, which has helped us detect new cases quickly,” he said.
United Forum of Bank Unions convener K. Ch. Venkataramana and All Indian Bank Employees Association leader B. Srinivasulu urged the Collector to restrict banking hours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. claiming that bank employees were also being exposed to the COVID-19 threat.
They urged him to conduct testing for all bank employees. “With the implementation of many government schemes, hundreds of beneficiaries are coming to banks in large numbers. Handling the crowds is a herculean task. The bank staff are worried about their health as they have to interact with customers closely,” they said.
The Collector assured them that he would discuss the issue with higher officials and heads of respective bank managements. Meanwhile, District Revenue Officer B. Dayanidhi urged people not to come to the Collector’s office on Monday over their grievances with the implementation of a partial lockdown. “People can register their grievances by calling 9491222122, 08942-240605. We will forward the grievances to the departments concerned immediately for follow-up action,” said Mr. Dayanidhi.