KURNOOL: Saturday and Sunday brought relief and hope of sorts to Kurnool district, the COVID-19 hotbed in Andhra Pradesh. Relief because, the recovery rate improved with 24 people discharged Saturday, and hope, as the district, which accounts for the highest number of cases in the State, saw only four new cases Sunday, the lowest in almost 10 days.
Everything seemed normal when the nation-wide lockdown was first announced on March 24 to contain COVID-19 outbreak.
Over 300 foreign returnees were under surveillance and the district administration collected 20 samples for tests.
There were no positive cases. Not until four days later, on March 28, when a 23-year-old male with a travel history to Rajasthan tested positive for the virus.
It was the first in the district and 19th in the State. Cut to April 26, the 33rd day of the lockdown, several mandals in the district are in the red zone with 239 active cases, nine deaths, and 31 recoveries.
What could be the reason for the district to become a hotbed for coronavirus? District officials reason that the influx of 357 Tablighi Jamaat congregation returnees from New Delhi triggered the sudden spurt.
The Markaz Nizamuddin returnees and their primary and secondary contacts account for a majority of the cases in the district.
The police say public indifference to lockdown restrictions resulted in rapid transmission. And, some like former chairman of the Kurnool Urban Development Authority (KUDA), Somisetty Venkateswarlu, blame the authorities for allegedly failing to handle the situation.
“The district administration failed in containing the transmission of the virus. It should take effective steps to control the movement of people. The Kurnool Municipal Corporation failed to maintain cleanliness and sanitation. They are not reaching out to densely populated colonies within the city,” he alleged.
For the record, the number of positive cases remained low for two weeks after the first case was reported on March 28.
Occasional spikes were seen — on April 5 and April 6 with 49 and 18 cases emerging respectively — in those two weeks till April 13.
But things changed from April 14 when the numbers kept shooting up. One hundred and ninety five of the total 279 cases emerged in the last 13 days, making Kurnool one among the few districts in South India — like Kasaragod in Kerala — to have seen a dramatic surge.
While the virus transmission curve in Kasaragod district is downwards and on its way to touch the base, Kurnool still seems to be struggling.
As of April 25, the district administration has declared 40 red zones in 20 of total 54 mandals and six urban areas including Kurnool city.
On an average, 74 per cent of households fall in red zone areas out of the total 8.87 lakh households in the district. In other words, 29 lakh people are living in red zones of the total 40.53 lakh district population (2011 census). The worst-affected are Kurnool city and Nandyal town.
Age-profiling of the 172 case details (of the total cases) released by the state health department so far indicates that a majority of the infected are aged between 21 and 50.
Women account for over 20 per cent of these 172 cases. Children as young as 3 were also among those who contracted the virus.
The district administration has ramped up testing and quarantined 1,260 people at 23 centres. As of April 25, 4,972 people were tested in the district, averaging over 1,200 tests per million population.
One reason for the increase in the number of cases is said to be the district administration’s decision to conduct more and focused tests in the red zones.
“We can conduct tests in other areas and show that there is no spread of positive cases. But, we are consciously testing more in red zones as per protocol as those areas are more vulnerable for transmission,” a senior official involved in the containment strategy told TNIE. However, fear is palpable among those residing in high-risk zones/containment clusters. “The future looks bleak. I have never seen such a dangerous time like this,” laments former mayor of Kurnool Municipal Corporation Bangi Anantaiah, who resides in Bhudawrapeta, a colony declared high-risk. With the number of cases surging, doctors too have been finding it difficult to manage the situation. According to the data revealed by the state nodal office for control and containment of COVID-19, there are 50 doctors and 50 paramedics/nurses working at the COVID hospitals (as of April 14, before the GGH was designated as the state COVID-hospital).
“Duties have been divided into three shifts, but the burden hasn’t come down. We are using everybody, including those with not much of an experience, to meet the demand. It is increasingly getting difficult. More personnel should be deployed,” a doctor involved in the treatment of COVID patients said on the condition of anonymity. To address this, Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy said 203 medical officers, recently recruited as part of recruitment of 1,170 people for COVID duties, have been sent to Kurnool district as of Saturday.
The fight against the pandemic has also taken a toll on the frontline workers. Reports of at least six doctors and paramedics contracting the virus have surfaced in the last three weeks. A senior doctor from Kurnool city, popular for treating patients for `2, and has reportedly helped the district administration fight the pandemic after the return of Jamaat attendees, succumbed to the virus. Six of his family members too have reportedly tested positive. With several patients visiting the doctor’s hospital, it was sealed, district medical and health officer Dr Rama Giddaiah said.
With the curve of the pandemic yet to plateau, the administration has intensified efforts to contain the transmission: The state government appointed three special officers to help contain the outbreak in the district, which not only accounts for over a quarter of the cases in AP but also figures high on the list of districts with the highest number of COVID cases in South India after Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad in Telangana and Kasaragod in Kerala. Kurnool government general hospital has been designated as the state COVID hospital, besides the already-designated two COVID district hospitals. And the officials have laid more focus on the red zones. This entire exercise has been named ‘Operation Kurnool Fights Corona (KFC)’.
So, is there a reason to panic? “Absolutely, not,” Principal Secretary (housing) and special officer for COVID-19 containment for Kurnool district Ajay Jain told TNIE. “The district administration has been making concerted efforts for the last one month. Our strategy has been to test, quarantine, and treat as many people as possible. More importantly, we are aiming to treat the red zones as quarantine centres. The people there should remain in their houses. We are cordoning off the entire area to ensure people don’t step out. This way, we will be able to prevent any further transmission, besides the one that already happened,” he explained.
The officials are well aware that enforcement of complete lockdown is possible only when there is a robust system in which essential goods are door-delivered. “Our mantra is to protect the green zones and restrict the red zones. That is why we have entrusted the job of door-delivering essential commodities to our ward/village secretaries and volunteers, and online service providers. If we provide essential goods at people’s doorstep, people don’t need to step out. So, if we do this for two weeks (14 days), we will be able to control the trajectory of the virus progression,” the senior IAS officer exuded confidence.
Besides this, the officials have also decided to move all those over 60 years of age with symptoms and those with co-morbidities in red zones to medical facilities.
Many of the officials and staff including district collector G Veerapandian, who have been tirelessly working for about a month, haven’t gone home for a long time, Jain added. The official machinery is conscious that it has a long and challenging way ahead. The challenges include detection of symptomatic cases in time and tracing their contacts. Though the officials managed to trace the sources of transmission in most cases, it is yet to be established in a few cases. “There is no local transmission as yet. So, we are confident the tracing of the source will be done soon. The police officials are on the job,” another district official noted.
With less than a week left for the extended lockdown to end on May 3, what will be the situation in Kurnool? “If we open the borders of hotspots, the entire efforts made so far will go in vain because there will be intra-district movement. So, we are for continuation of lockdown in hotspots. The government will take an appropriate call,” a senior bureaucrat, requesting anonymity, said.But mere lockdown would not prove effective until people follow the protocols of the lockdown. To instill a sense of responsibility among the people, district Superintendent of Police K Fakkeerappa announced that criminal action would be taken against those seen on the roads without a valid reason/emergency. Will people pay heed? On their cooperation hinges the battle of Kurnool.