With the fast-spreading of coronavirus infection in the remote villages of Wanaparthy district, the police have been strictly implementing lockdown measures restricting the movement of people and vehicles.
District Superintendent of Police Apoorva Rao said movement of the people has been curtailed to a greater extent as the government guidelines are to allow only people in an emergency to come to the roads. She said that all establishments are closed by 10 a.m. and people in the district return to their home within a few minutes.
The police are also counselling the lockdown violators not to venture out, Ms. Rao, who is monitoring the situation, said. She herself has gone to the interior villages and advised people to maintain physical distance, and take all precautions.
Till Saturday, the police have seized more than 2,400 vehicles, booked more than 4,400 people for not wearing masks, 185 for not maintaining social distance and around 5,200 for violating lockdown norms, Ms. Rao said, adding that they have imposed a penalty of ₹51.47 lakh. Ms. Rao said that 260 shop owners in the district were booked for violating lockdown norms.
With these measures, the Wanaparthy district has seen no escalation in the number of positive cases in the past three weeks, she said.
To dispel the myths about the after-effects of COVID-19 vaccination, the district police were successful in motivating people in far-flung areas to get the jab and protect themselves from the infection earlier this month.
Ms. Rao along with a doctor and local leaders was involved in convincing the villagers about the risks posed by coronavirus for those not vaccinated.
Meanwhile, the district police issued 1,348 e-passes.