Four staff members of AP Governor Office test COVID-19 positive

A security officer and three other staff at the Andhra Pradesh Governor’s office, Raj Bhavan, in latest, tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Four Raj Bhavan employees are currently working at the official residence of AP Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan in Vijayawada. The news was confirmed by Special Chief Secretary (medical and health) KS Jawahar Reddy. The officer stated that a staff nurse, butler, housekeeping staff and a security officer were shifted to the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada immediately after their test results on Sunday evening. Currently, three of the staff members are seeking treatment at Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Hospital in Krishna District. Records revealed that none of them had any travel history. Only the Security Officer stepped out of the Raj Bhavan since the lockdown began.

Immediately after the four employees were taken to the hospital, drones were used to spray sodium hypochlorite solution at the Andhra Pradesh Raj Bhavan. Other disinfection work also commenced to prevent the spreading of the virus, said the concerned authorities. Health department officials revealed that the AP Governor visited Hyderabad last, and none of the other staffers at the Raj Bhavan stepped out. Officials stated that Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan too might be tested for the virus as a precautionary measure. An official statement from the Raj Bhavan regarding the latest developments is yet to be published.

Vijayawada is one of the COVID-19 hot spots in Andhra Pradesh with new cases surfacing every day. Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz and Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao inspected Krishna Lanka in the city to take stock of the situation. 24 people from Krishna Lanka tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Stating that 150 of the 177 cases in Krishna District were in Vijayawada alone, the officials appealed to people to strictly adhere to the lockdown norms in order to contain the virus.

As per the Media Bulletin released at 10:00 AM on Monday morning, 6517 COVID-19 samples tested in AP, 80 new positive cases, Srikakulam reports one new case, 4 discharged, no deaths in the past 24 hours