The District Collector cautioned commercial establishments to uphold COVID-19 norms and ensure all staff are vaccinated. With the threat of a new variant of COVID-19 and a spike in cases, the district administration has begun to make arrangements to contain the spread.
Collector S. Sivarasu chaired a meeting with officials from the Tiruchi Corporation, health and revenue departments to strengthen the infrastructure. A decision was also made to undertake stringent measures to ensure adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.
“We will be enforcing the norms, and levying fines on individuals and establishments. The local bodies and the revenue department will begin conducting checks soon,” Mr. Sivarasu told The Hindu.
The authorities were also planning to further concentrate on increasing the number of vaccinations, to ensure that the people were protected. “Mask-wearing and vaccinations are the only weapons against COVID-19. Everyone must ensure that they have taken both doses of the vaccine, while also continuing to wear mask and maintain personal hygiene,” he said.
Officials of the health and revenue department have been instructed to monitor travellers visiting the district from other countries and also other States where there has been a marked increase in cases.
Authorities will conduct checks for proof of travel on Sundays when a lockdown has been planned and during the night curfew.
Individuals affected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and who have received two doses of vaccination are advised to be under home isolation and monitor themselves. Setting up of COVID Care Centres, similar to that of the ones set up during the second wave were also being planned. “We are looking for appropriate places and will soon set the facilities up. We have learnt lessons from both the waves and are prepared beforehand,” a health official said.
