Around mid-May, a 53-year-old hotel employee who also worked as a part-time commercial photographer and his son were actively engaged in their activities, meeting many families and visiting places in at least six areas surrounding their village, Gollala Mamidada.
On May 20, the man was declared dead due to COVID-19 in the Government General Hospital in Kakinada and his son tested positive later. Two weeks thereafter, 123 persons identified as primary or secondary contacts of this family tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in the total number of cases crossing the 300 mark in East Godavari district.
“The Gollala Mamidada case speaks of sheer negligence of the local people in preventing the spread of the disease despite a war-footing effort by the government,” Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy said at a press conference then.
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According to District Medical and Health Officer M. Mallik, “The contacts of the Gollala Mamidada cases were from six areas - Bikkavolu, Ramachandrapuram, Tuni, Tampara, Karapa and Mandapeta. All the cases reported in the six areas had a direct link with the Gollala Maamidada village. A majority of them are in the age group of 25-35.”
Preliminary investigation by the Medical and Health authorities revealed that the hotel employee had met many families within and outside the village while his son had even attended a birthday celebration and family gatherings, leading to the spread of the disease. The hotel is located at Pedapudi.
Meanwhile, many from the Rampa agency demand that the district authorities restrict movement of people from the Pedapudi area into the agency as a majority of the small financiers come from there.
