AP collected Rs. 36 cr as penalties from COVID norm violators; Chittoor reported highest fines

Visakhapatnam: Amid growing concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Andhra Pradesh has intensified its drive against the violators of COVID-appropriate behaviour. The state has so far collected about Rs. 36 crore from the violators.

Most of the violators were found in Chittoor district which contributed Rs. 7.8 crore in penalties, followed by Anantapur (Rs. 5.5 crore) and Nellore (Rs. 3.86 crore). As many as 42.78 lakh people violated the norms in the state with Visakhapatnam district alone accounting for 11.5 lakh violations. Penalties were imposed on 66,400 people in Guntur district, the lowest for any district in the state.

These violations range from not wearing masks in public places and flouting social distancing norms to social gatherings in excess of permissible strength, public consumption of tobacco, and curfew violations.

Meanwhile, the public on their own raised 85 complaints through the recently-announced official WhatsApp number (8010968295) to report COVID-19 violations. People from Anantapur alone raised 25 complaints, while there have been no complaints from districts like Prakasam and Srikakulam.

In a recent order released in view of the Omicron variant, the Andhra Pradesh health department has asked the officials to strictly implement the mask-wearing mandate. A Rs. 100 penalty will be levied on the violators. If any commercial establishment is found not adhering to the rules, they may be closed for two days besides imposing a fine of Rs. 25,000.

All the family functions shall be restricted to a maximum of 500 members in a staggered manner. They shall follow all COVID-appropriate behaviour.

Due to the improvement in the daily COVID-19 case numbers, the use of masks has considerably decreased in public places. Physical distancing also seems to have gone for a toss as crowds at malls, markets, parks, and other public places are back to pre-COVID levels.

Dr. K. Satish Reddy, a general physician, said that people should leave their complacency and strictly adhere to COVID-appropriate behaviour. "Social distancing and masks will help prevent the spread of the disease, while vaccination would help prevent serious infections," said Dr. Reddy.

How to register complaints against violators

· Public can raise a complaint against COVID-19 norm violators through WhatsApp number 8010968295.

· They have to send photographic evidence with location details to the WhatsApp number to initiate action.

· They can also check the status of the existing complaint.

Penalty collected for violation of COVID-19 norms