Police Commissioner Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao on Sunday appealed to the people not to come out of their houses in the areas designated as red zones and cooperate with the police in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Mr. Tirumala Rao, along with additional Police Commissioner B. Srinivasulu, COVID-19 in-charge IG K. Satyanarayana, and Deputy Commissioners of Police Vikranth Patil and D. Koteswara Rao visited the Kummaripalem Centre in the city on Sunday and reviewed the situation in the red zone.
“We are making announcements through the public address system with focus on the red and containment zones. Many people are seen moving around several times in the restricted zones. Stern action will be initiated against them if they continue to ignore our warnings being issued in their own interests,” Mr. Tirumala Rao said.
64 cases, six red zones
Addressing the media, he said there were 64 positive cases in the Commissionerate limits. Six red zones were created in the Vidyadharapuram, Old Rajarajeswari Peta, Ranigarithota, Khuddus Nagar, Payakapuram and Sanathnagar areas.
“The police are making efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Two Town, Bhavanipuram, Krishnalanka, Satyanarayanapuram, Nunna and Penamaluru police stations limits. We are also monitoring the situation through drones,” said Mr. Tirumala Rao.
Later, the police officers launched six special motorcycles and mobile vehicles and distributed personal protection equipment (PPE) to those discharging their duties in the red zones. Policemen too would wear the PPEs and move about on the motorcycles to enforce lockdown, the Police Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, the police seized 411 two-wheelers and 25 autorickshaws during the day for violating the lockdown norms.
As part of their efforts to check the spread of COVID-19, the municipal staff were sanitising the red zones regularly, besides appealing to the residents to maintain hygiene and social distancing.
Arrangements were being made to distribute essential commodities, including vegetables, at the doorstep of the people residing in the red zones, the officials said. People were asked to wear masks and maintain social distancing at public places and at fair price shops.
