AP districts on alert after new cases reported in TS
The Andhra Pradesh government has alerted all the districts after four new Omicron cases were reported in Hyderabad. Since it is the festival season and vacation time, health officials worry about the spread of the virus from the neighboring states as people will travel by train or flights to the state.
By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi Published on 17 Dec 2021 3:35 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has alerted all the districts after four new Omicron cases were reported in Hyderabad. Since it is the festival season and vacation time, health officials worry about the spread of the virus from the neighboring states as people will travel by train or flights to the state.
It may be noted that Andhra Pradesh has reported one Omicron case. A 34-year-old foreign traveller who came from Ireland to Vizianagaram tested positive for the new COVID-19 variant.
On average, at least 15-20 travellers are coming from other countries to Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, three foreign travellers have tested positive for COVID-19 in East Godavari district. Their samples were sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, to determine if they are infected with the Omicron variant.
Among the three is a couple who returned to Gopalapuram in Ravulapalem from Singapore on 8 December. While both had tested negative at the Chennai airport, their samples collected in East Godavari tested positive. In another case, a software engineer who recently reached Ainavilli from Bangladesh complained of fever and a few days later, tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the state medical and health officials, Andhra Pradesh reported 127 COVID-positive cases in the last 24 hours. Special teams have been formed at the airports and in districts to conduct COVID-19 tests for those travelling from other countries and states which have reported more COVID-19 cases.
Positive cases are being reported from every district, especially among those travelling from foreign countries. The samples of foreign travellers are being sent to CCMB, Hyderbad, but it takes more than a week for the results.
Focus on vaccination, Jagan tells officials
Keeping in view the Omicron cases being reported, Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the medical and health officials to speed up the vaccination process in the state and focus on districts that are lagging behind.
As of 17 December, the state had administered over 3.83 crore first dose and 2.72 second dose of the vaccine. Nellore ranked top by administering 100% of the first dose to 2.3 lakh individuals followed by 99.74% vaccination in Vizianagaram (1.8 lakh individuals).
Districts such as Anantapur, Kurnool, and Krishna completed 97% vaccination of the first dose. AP has completed 97% of the first dose vaccination and aims to complete 3.95 crore vaccinations by January 2022.
Chittoor ranks top in administering the second dose of the vaccine by vaccinating 3.95 lakh people (75%).
Jagan has urged the officials to focus on Visakhapatnam and Guntur districts which are still at 95% vaccination while other districts completed more than 97% vaccination.
