COVID-19 Update: 7 red zones in Vizag, house nearly 4 lakh people

Local authorities, in the latest reports, have identified a total of seven red zones in Vizag as on date. The ‘red zones’ are determined based on the number of registered cases for COVID-19 from those areas. At present, the red zones identified by the GVMC in Vizag are as follows:

1. Thatichetlapalem
2. Akkayyapalem
3. Padmanabham
4. Gajuwaka
5. Allipuram
6. Narsipatnam
7. Poorna Market

Speaking about the red zones, Vizag District Collector, V Vinay Chand (IAS), stated that all twenty cases registered in the city so far are from these areas. Now that the red zones have been identified, the authorities have begun to enforce a strict disinfection and sanitation program, across these specific regions and a three-kilometre radius around them. This is in continuation of the GVMC’s efforts of sanitizing frequently-visited roads and hot-spots in the city.

At present, the police authorities have sealed the areas to prevent cross-contamination. While the disinfection of public spaces has started already, rapid testing, of residents in these areas, has begun. As per official reports, the seven red zones house nearly four lakh families.

Earlier this week, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Botcha Satyanarayana, directed the city’s top officials to amplify surveillance in all the hot spots in Visakhapatnam. Orders were also given to deploy extra teams, to these localities, to inspect every house and identify any citizens with symptoms of coronavirus. The minister asked the concerned authorities to acquire all equipment, required for disinfection, on a rental basis and start the work immediately.

In line with the directives, the GVMC has deployed spray blowers across the city to spray sodium hypochlorite solution (disinfectant) to sanitize all the high-risk areas. The Corporation authorities appealed to the citizens to cooperate with the staff as they are working round the clock to ensure that the city is clean.