After a lull of four months, when the number of daily COVID-19 cases had dropped to single digits, the district has once again started witnessing a sudden surge in cases. From March 1, the district has recorded close to 630 cases till date.
“On March 1, we reported just one case in the district, and the total active cases stood at only 24. But today, the number of active cases stands at 526 and we have recorded close to 450 cases in the last five days alone,” said District COVID-19 Special Officer and Andhra Medical College principal P.V. Sudhakar.
This indicates that the second wave has begun in the district, he said.
But health officials are not sure how serious this will be and whether it can be compared to the surge in some other States such as Maharashtra, Kerala and Chhattisgarh.
First UK strain recorded
The district has been randomly sending some samples to CCMB (Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology), Hyderabad, and as per health officials, only one sample had matched the UK strain so far.
The sample is that of a woman who has returned from abroad and resides in Visakhapatnam city. She had tested positive in Kakinada a month ago. Her strain matched the UK strain, officials said, adding that she has made a full recovery and was kept under observation after she returned from Kakinada.
COVID-appropriate behaviour
Health experts attribute the surge to lack of COVID-appropriate behaviour. People have become complacent and many have stopped wearing masks, or maintaining personal hygiene or following social distancing norms.
“Since the beginning, we have been advocating that the second wave is due to lack of appropriate behaviour. This, coupled with some events such as Maha Sivaratri, VSP agitation and ULB elections, can be seen as the likely reasons for the sudden rise in cases,” Dr. Sudhakar said.
Vaccination is key
The district administration said that though the machinery is now well prepared both in terms of understanding the disease and in terms of infrastructure and equipment after having combated the pandemic for over a year, they feel that vaccination can play a key role in stopping the surge.
“If we can vaccinate 70-75% of the population, we can develop herd immunity among others and that should keep us safe,” said Dr. Sudhakar.
But it has to be done at a faster pace and the age restriction for vaccination should be done away with. “The time has come to open up the vaccination drive for all above 18 years of age. We understand that it is a challenge for vaccine manufacturers, but this is the only way out,” he said.
A senior doctor from the District Immunology Department said that as of now 200 session (vaccine) sites are operational and around 1,000 staff are engaged. This can be scaled up to 500 sites and 2,500 staff can be deputed to speed up the vaccination.
Poor response
The vaccination drive began on January 16, and so far the response has been far from desirable.
In the first phase for health workers, the response has been only around 75%. In the second phase for frontline workers, it has been around 45% and for the third phase (45+ with co-morbidities) it has been around 40 to 45%.
Visakhapatnam district has a population of around 46 lakh, and so far, only two lakh have been vaccinated.
Health experts opine that at least by June or July, if 30 lakh take the jab, then the herd immunity can be expected to develop.
Special drive
To step up the vaccination process, the district administration is embarking on a drive and health teams will move to the premises of PSUs and major institutions to give the jab.
This apart, the administration is also contemplating imposition of fines for not wearing masks.
