With 55 cases in few days, Appughar emerges a COVID-19 hotspot in Vizag

As Vizag continues to witness a spike in COVID-19 cases, there has been a considerable increase in the containment clusters in the district. As per the report received on the evening of 21 June 2020, Vizag district reported a total of 443 COVID-19 cases. While it was Dandu Bazar that stood as the hotspot in Vizag during the lockdown, the recent few weeks have seen a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Appughar. Reporting about 55 COVID-19 cases in a span of a few days, the locality has now brought about some concerns for the citizens as well as the authorities.

Appughar, which is among the densely populated areas in Vizag city, is now under close watch with authorities restricting entry into the cluster. According to the official reports, a tea seller from Appughar and two of his family members tested positive for COVID-19 on 13 June 2020. Soon, the positive cases have been on a steady rise in the area. Interacting with Yo! Vizag, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Zonal Commissioner (Zone 2), S Srinivasa Rao, informed that 20 COVID-19 cases were reported from Appughar within the past two days, taking the tally of this area in Vizag to 55.  “Containment measures are being carried out in a perimeter of 500 metres at Appughar. Surveillance is being done extensively. Until now, 450 individuals have been tested, out of which, the results of 60 samples are awaited. We are also disinfecting the locality with bleaching powder and Sodium Hypochlorite solution,” Mr Rao said while talking about the measures being taken in the locality. Health officials have also cited the densely packed clusters and congested lanes in the area as a possible reason for the rapid spread of the infection.

With Vizag witnessing its highest single-day spike with 35 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the authorities are ramping up the containment measures. In this regard, Asha Workers, Ward Volunteers, zonal commissioners, and all concerned personnel have stepped up to conduct door-to-door surveys in every house in the containment clusters. The GVMC Chief Medical Officer (Health), Dr KSLG Sastry told Yo! Vizag that apart from conducting these surveys, the volunteers have also been instructed to mandatorily test elderly citizens above 60 years of age, and those with co-morbidities. “Along with the primary and secondary contacts of the patients, we are also testing other individuals from the high-risk category on a priority basis. Samples are being collected from those who are above 60 years and those who are suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and other comorbidity disorders too,” he added.

It is to be noted that out of 443 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Visakhapatnam district, 230 cases have been marked active while 210 patients have been discharged so far after recovering from the virus. The district reported its third COVID-19 casualty on Sunday as the death toll rose to 3.