Visakhapatnam to intensify testing as COVID-19 cases grow in district

Visakhapatnam Collector V Vinay Chand, on Monday, stressed on the importance of widescale testing while reviewing the COVID-19 measures being followed at different levels in the district. With several lockdown relaxations coming into effect as part of the Centre’s unlock strategy, the Collector has called for aggressive testing across the district to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Mr Chand stated that the need of the hour is to contain the spread of the virus in areas that have already reported cases. He directed the officials to make sure that no deaths are caused due to the infection apart from adopting stringent measures to prevent the virus from spreading to other areas. The district officials have further been told to identify and test people who are likely to be vulnerable to COVID-19.

Given that the number of containment clusters in Visakhapatnam is on the higher side, these tests will be conducted under the supervision of the Health Department of the GVMC. On the other hand, the tests in rural areas of the district will be conducted under the supervision of the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO). The officials have been ordered to identify and test elders in the high-risk category, individuals with diabetes, blood pressure, kidney-related ailments, pregnant women in the containment clusters within 10 days. High-risk category individuals, living in non-containment zones, will have to be tested by the month-end, the Collector said. Stating that the tests must be conducted efficiently even in remote areas and tribal regions, Vinay Chand said that all hospitals and medical personnel in Visakhapatnam must put in dedicated efforts to complete the COVID-19 testing process at the earliest.

GVMC Commissioner G Srijana, VMRDA Additional Commissioner Manazir Jeelani Samoon, Joint Collector Arun Babu, Andhra Medical College Principal PV Sudhakar, and DMHO Tirupathi Rao, among others, were present at the meeting held at the Collectorate.

As on Monday evening, Visakhapatnam recorded a total of 303 COVID-19 cases.