A two-week complete lockdown was clamped in Srikakulam district headquarters on Saturday in order to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases.
The lockdown will be implemented stringently, and only pharmacies and grocery shops selling essential items will be allowed to function, that too from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. All other shops including textiles, jewellery, and home appliances will not be allowed to open till the first week of August.
According to a directive issued by Srikakulam Collector J. Nivas, people should not come out of their homes unless for essential reasons, that too only till 1 p.m. “The police department will impose fines if anybody is found moving outside after 1 p.m. Those not wearing masks in public will also be fined. We have banned all public functions in the town and other places. Prior permission from officials concerned is a must for marriages and other functions which were fixed long ago,” Mr. Nivas said.
Almost all business establishments have agreed to abide by the guidelines of the district administration as the number of COVID-19 cases has crossed 2,400 in the district. The cases doubled within a week and around 200 cases were reported from Srikakulam town itself. Over 50 areas have been made containment zones in the district headquarters.
Senior officials advised political leaders to not meet anyone and abstain from organising public meetings till the situation is under control. Recently, Palakonda MLA V. Kalavati and YSRCP leader Daneti Sridhar tested positive for COVID-19. The district administration observed that many new coronavirus cases were found after public meetings were held recently in Srikakulam, Amadalavalasa and other places.
In this backdrop, testing is being ramped up to identify new cases. As many as 1,11,907 tests were conducted so far. Currently, around 400 tests are conducted per day and the number is expected to go up to 1,000 per day as health officials turn their focus on rural areas.