Chittoor registers record 2,764 cases in 24 hours

Tirupati: The Covid-19 positive cases in Chittoor district reached a new daily record with 2,764 cases being recorded on Friday which is more than the double of last year's high of 1,326 reported on August 28, 2020.

Tirupati city with 915 cases and its rural segment with 214 cases top the list followed by Chandragiri 167, Chittoor 142, Renigunta 91, Srikalahasti 79, Penumuru 78 and Kuppam 76. The cases have increased in several other rural mandals as well posing a challenge to district officials to provide amenities to the ever increasing positive patients.

Already the entire official machinery has been standing on their toes and taking care of the patients. Various committees have been working round-the-clock and they are all being monitored by District Collector M Hari Narayanan.

Collector held a zoom conference with Joint Collectors V Veerabrahmam and Raja Sekhar, DM&HO Dr M Penchalaiah, DCHS Dr P Saralamma, Superintendents of Ruia and SVIMS hospitals, DRO, DPO, ICDS and DWMA officials on Friday and reviewed the situation.

He made it clear that it is the responsibility of hospital managements and nodal officers to ensure the oxygen reserves from time to time. Hari Narayanan directed them to focus on parameters like testing, tracing, triaging, contact tracing and medicines which are important.

In view of the increasing cases in Tirupati, the need to set up one more testing centre there immediately to get the results fast was felt. Collector said that there should be no shortage of staff to look after the patients and ANMs should take care of those under home isolation and provide them the kits.

Meanwhile, the denizens of the city are scared with the rampant increase in the number of cases. The present trend indicates the escalation of cases further to cross 3,000 mark in the next few days.

In that case, it would become an uphill task for the officials to take care of the patients' needs and provide the required infrastructure. Already the district is having around 17,000 active cases while the death toll has reached 976 and the total positive cases have crossed 1.20 lakh mark.