The main block of the district collectorate here was closed to the public on Saturday after a woman employee of a key section tested positive to COVID-19.
It is the first COVID-19 positive case to hit the collectorate ever since the lockdown and unlock processes had begun.
The officials said that the woman employee’s mother from an area in the town adjoining a red zone tested positive to the virus last week. After creating a red zone and disinfection drive, the COVID-19 task force conducted tests on the primary and secondary contacts of the woman. As the woman’s daughter too tested positive for the virus, the main block that houses the offices of the District Collector and Joint Collectors was closed to the public.
Sources said only skeletal staff was allowed to function to handle works pertaining to emergency matters, while other staff were instructed to work from home. The two other buildings to the right and left of the main block have been kept under surveillance, allowing the public in limited numbers by adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines and after verifying their purpose of visit.
Chittoor Municipal Corporation, which considerably maintained a low profile with negligible number of COVID positive cases in March-April, gradually started witnessing high number of cases from the middle of May. By July, close to 100 red zones had come up in the corporation limits and surrounding areas, with over 400 positive cases.
District Surveillance Officer Annareddy Sudarsan told The Hindu that COVID tests would be conducted on all the staff in the affected building, and the public would be allowed only after the formalities were completed. “There is nothing to worry, as the affected employee contracted the virus as a secondary contact,” the official said.
