The sudden spike in new COVID-19 cases in Chittoor district, from its daily average of 20 cases to 41 on Sunday, has disturbed the mood of the medical and health department officials.
Kuppam case
New cases have emerged in Madanapalle, Punganur, Palamaner and Kuppam mandals, which border with Karnataka. Detection of three new cases in Kuppam, of an aged couple and their pregnant daughter-in-law, on Saturday has set alarm bells ringing with the officials scurrying to identify their primary and secondary contacts. It was observed that the family had travelled to Kolar district in Karnataka in recent weeks.
With restoration of road and rail transport between Bengaluru and Chennai via Kuppam, the passenger traffic had returned to its full. From Kuppam and surrounding hamlets, close to two thousand people, mostly youth, make daily travel to Bengaluru, working as daily wagers or doing outsourced jobs there. Similarly, large number public have resumed their regular works travelling to Bengaluru, Chintamani and Kolar. This has put officials on alert as Karnataka is seeing a spike in daily cases, with the number crossing 400.
Coming to the eastern mandals, a fresh case of an 8-year-old girl testing positive at Veluru in Pitchatur mandal has aggravated the fears of the public. The officials said that the girl’s family had a travel history to Chennai.
Contact-tracing intensified
Detection of fresh cases in Puthalapattu mandal near Chittoor prompted District Panchayat Officer Prabhakar Reddy to visit the concerned villages and instructing the field staff to intensify identification of secondary contacts and their travel history.
Meanwhile, District Medical and Health Officer M. Penchalaiah said that all arrangements were being made for the vaccination drive for the next target group in general public, those who fall in the bracket of above 60 years and 45-plus with co-morbid conditions.
“Our personnel at the ground level and also at the rural health centres are continuously educating the public to not let their guard down and continue to wear facemasks and use sanitizers,” he said.