The East Godavari district authorities have identified as many as 114 drivers from the Konaseema region who visited the Koyambedu vegetable and fruit market in Tamil Nadu during the lockdown period.
“Until now, as many as four drivers have been tested positive for COVID-19 in the Amalapuram Revenue Division and all of them had visited the market in the recent past,” East Godavari District Medical and Health Officer(DMHO) B. Satya Suseela told The Hindu. They were transporting coconut, banana, and tomato to the neighbouring State.
“Till Wednesday, 56 of them have been traced while rest of the drivers are stranded in Tamil Nadu. Of the 56 who returned to Andhra Pradesh, 30 drivers are engaged in the transportation activity out of East Godavari. The other 26 drivers, who were here, have undergone the COVID-19 tests,” said Ms. Suseela.
The Medical and Health and Revenue authorities have identified nearly 500 persons who had primary contact with the four persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the Amalapuram region.
Meanwhile, East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy has appealed to the drivers to undergo the medical tests to break the chain of transmission in the district. “All the drivers who had travelled to Tamil Nadu should cooperate with the authorities and undergo the tests,” said Mr. Muralidhar.
