As Covid third wave looms large, East Godavari admin implements night curfew

Rajamahendravaram: As the Covid cases are on rise, the East Godavari district administration has decided to implement night curfew strictly from 11 pm to 6 am to curb Covid cases. As many as 210 positive cases were recorded on Wednesday, with the test positivity rate of 4.78 percent which is a cause for concern.

Some of the school students abstained from attending classes in view of the third wave threat in the district. Parents are also reluctant to send their wards because of the possible third wave. Many of them are preferring online classes and are not interested in physically attending the classes. According to the sources, in Agency areas, the attendance of the students is very low and negligible. Parents of the children are demanding for the vaccination of their children as a condition to attend the classes.

However, the officials are sounding a note of caution regarding the possibility of a third wave. According to the Health Department officials, the Covid positive cases are more than 200 per day in the district. Most of the cases are being reported from Agency and Konaseema areas. Some people alleged that some politicians and officials are not following Covid norms.

District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Dr K Gowreswar Rao cautioned people to be wary about possible third wave in the district as the cases are increasing. He said that during Dasara and other festivals, if Covid positivity rate is not increased, there will be no impact on the health of the people in the third wave. If Covid-19 increases after Dasara, then there will be an impact of a third wave in November. Even though the Delta variant cases are registered in Kerala and Maharashtra, they may not be any threat in East Godavari district in view of the large-scale vaccination. However, he advised people to be cautious and follow the Covid norms.

District Collector Chevuri Hari Kiran issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 till September 30. He said that except emergency services like medical shops, diagnostic labs, medical shops and other essential services, business establishments and all offices must close before 11 pm regularly. He advised the people to follow the Covid-19 protocols including maintaining physical distance and wearing of masks, sanitising hands or washing their hands frequently. Every school should provide sanitiser and masks, he ordered.