VIJAYAWADA: Following the instructions of Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang, unit heads of all the 13 districts conducted state awareness drives on the precautions that need to be taken in the wake of increasing Covid cases on Saturday. Superintendents of police (SPs) and police commissioners of Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada organised various public outreach programmes, and asked the citizens to wear masks, use hand sanitiser frequently and observe social distancing in public spaces. The police also warned the public of imposing fines against the violators of Covid-19 norms.
In Krishna district, SP M Ravindranath Babu kicked-off a free mask drive at Koneru Centre in Machilipatnam, and explained the trend of increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the district for the past two weeks. Guntur Rural SP Vishal Gunni visited Bapatla town where he opined that the rate of infection and chances of virus spread are higher in educational institutions, public transport, and public gatherings. He urged the people to inform the health department if they come across high prevalence of Covid-19 in a group.
Visakhapatnam city police conducted surprise checks in lodges, hotels and guest houses, and asked the managements to inform them if they come across any guest with Covid-19 symptoms. In West Godavari, SP K Narayan Naik organised a special drive near the Fire Station Centre in Eluru and presented red roses to those without masks. Naik said people, who are putting others at risk by not following Covid norms, will be dealt with seriously.