Tirupati: People violate safety norms with decline in Covid cases

Tirupati: The declining trend in the Covid positive cases in the district seems to have led to the negligence among the people on the minimum precautions to be taken. The SMS campaign by the district medical and health department along with civic authorities to educate people on the importance of social distance, wearing of mask and sanitising hands with the slogan 'Maske Kavacham' was also going in vain.

The use of masks and social distancing have almost taken a back seat especially during unlock 4.0 and 5.0 as many people can be seen outside without masks. The ongoing padayatra undertaken by the ruling party in various constituencies have completely ignored social distancing with people moving so closely and majority of them were not even wearing masks.

TDP leaders in fact were questioning how they were given permission to conduct padayatra at this stage when Covid norms were in vogue. They recalled the police denial with the same reasons for their padayatra in Kuppam recently.

Unfortunately, Tirupati Rythu Bazar has become another danger zone with no seller wearing masks. So too some buyers and even supporting staff there. As the market is normally filled with crowds in the mornings, there is every possibility of spreading the virus to many people.

It may be noted that the Covid cases though reduced in numbers still around 300-400 cases have been reporting daily. The total cases have crossed 83,000 with 805 deaths so far. Though the district has about 2,000 active cases presently, officials were saying that the situation is still alarming and only protective measures can save people from the Covid.

Speaking to The Hans India, DM&HO Dr M Penchalaiah said that wearing a mask and social distancing are the essential things to be followed by each and everyone. He warned police will impose fines on those not wearing masks. To a question, he said out of 18,000 tests conducted on teachers, around 180 were tested positive. Similarly, out of 4,000 tests on students, about 10 got positive. These tests are being conducted randomly by visiting various schools daily.