Prakasam district admin to impose restrictions on movement

Ongole: The Prakasam district Collector Dr Pola Bhaskara announced that they are about to impose restrictions on the movement of the public by curtailing the hours of business for the merchants and manufacturers in the district.

Speaking to The Hans India on Tuesday, Bhaskara said that they are working on the prevention of contact, control and containment of Coronavirus in the district. He said that they appointed staff at ground level, like volunteers, VOAs, anganwadis, field assistants, anganwadis for surveillance on the suspected Covid carriers in the home quarantine. He said that they have appointed 18 special officers to monitor the Covid preparedness of the PHCs, GGH and other centres established in them.

He said that they inspect the testing, triaging, tracing and treatment to the Covid affected people and their contacts. He said that they are opening the Covid Care Centres in the district with 1500 bed capacity initially and will extend them to 3000 beds later.

The collector announced that they have a demand of 5.50 KL of Oxygen in the GGH Ongole. He said that they have 20KL capacity tanks for Oxygen installed at GGH Ongole and refilling them once in two days. He said that the government is now sending a tanker with 12KL of oxygen from Visakhapatnam, as the Tamil Nadu government restricted supply from Chennai recently.

The hospitals in other places are using oxygen cylinders, and they have enough supply for few days based on the demand trend, he said and assured that the government promised to increase the oxygen allotment in a few days. He announced that they have also established a task force under the supervision of a joint collector, which inspects the preparedness of the hospitals for treating COVID patients. As the public are not yet following the appropriate behaviour required to control and contain the Coronavirus, they are taking a decision to restrict the movement of the public. He said that the public will be asked to stay home from 10.00 AM to 06.00 PM for few days, at Ongole, Markapuram, Chirala and other areas by enforcing the containment operations, where the COVID cases are on rising. In the meeting held with the officials at Spandana Hall, the collector ordered them to conduct triaging personally and send the people with no symptoms to home isolation, mild symptoms to COVID Care centres, and severe symptoms to the hospitals for treatment.

He ordered the ANMs, volunteers and VOAs to trace the primary and secondary contacts of the positive cases and see they are also tested for Coronavirus. He gave the responsibility of the surveillance of COVID suspects to be home quarantined to the ANMs and women protection secretaries. He asked the officials to allow only the COVID patients permitted by the medical officers for home isolation by providing the medical kit and monitor their health status regularly to shift to the hospital when required. He ordered the officials to continue the Information, Education and Communication (IEC Programs) to create awareness of the intensity of the COVID cases.

The JC TS Chetan, DRO K Vinayakam, special collector Sarala Vandanam, special deputy collectors Vasanta Babu, P Gloria, K Naradamuni, DPO Narayana Reddy, municipal commissioner Bhagyalakshmi and others also participated in the meeting.