Another 800 primary and secondary contacts of the COVID-19 positive cases have been identified in the erstwhile Nizamabad district in Telangana, and medical personnel are on the job of collecting their details and samples. Of them, samples of 225 persons were collected till now for sending to laboratories for testing.
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) are conducting tests of those persons who are in home quarantine, twice a day. With as many as 57 positive cases recorded - highest in the State only after Hyderabad - a high alert has been sounded and lockdown conditions are strictly being monitored by civil and police authorities. All the 20 coronavirus hotspots here, in Bodhan and Banswada, and in rural areas were completely sealed off and essential commodities are being supplied in mobile vans at the residents’ doorsteps.
Control rooms for help
Deputy IG of Police N. Sivasankar Reddy and Commissioner of Police Kartikeya went round the hotspots and distributed masks, gloves and sanitisers to police personnel on duty. They advised residents not to come out of their houses unless there was an emergency. They said control rooms were set up at the hotspots and they could be contacted for any help.
On the other hand, Collector C. Narayana Reddy, in his voice message circulated in social media hinted at an increase in COVID-19 positive cases in the coming days as samples of some more first and second contacts are being collected and sent to for testing. He added that the lockdown period is likely to be extended at least in hotspots given the increase in the number of cases.
