In the wake of a woman from the region, with a travel history to Italy, testing positive for COVID-19 in Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad on Saturday, the district administration has scaled up preventive measures to check the spread of the contagious disease.
The entire machinery of the District Medical and Health Department and other allied wings, including the field level functionaries such as ANMs and ASHAs has been activated to spread awareness on preventive measures in the form of distribution of pamphlets on how to keep coronavirus disease at bay. The isolation wards at the State-run hospitals in both Kothagudem and Bhadrachalam have been fully equipped with adequate beds and requisite medical staff, including doctors, as a precautionary measure.
The district administration also geared up to strictly enforce the State government’s order to shut all educational institutions, cinema theatres, bars, sports stadiums, swimming pools and other major facilities to avoid public gatherings in the next couple of weeks.
This apart, a strict surveillance is being maintained on all those with travel history to coronavirus hit countries and also those who have been in contact with the only one confirmed case of COVID-19 from the region to ensure their screening for coronavirus as a precautionary step, sources said.
In a statement, Collector M. V. Reddy said stern action will be taken against those who violate the closure orders issued by the government to avoid major public gatherings as part of preventive steps to check the spread of coronavirus.
The provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, and the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act would be invoked if necessary, he added.
Meanwhile, Khammam Collector R V Karnan reviewed the coronavirus preventive measures at a high level meeting with senior officials of various government departments in Khammam on Sunday.
