VIJAYAWADA: After a vegetable vendor in Nuzvid contracted the killer virus on Wednesday, Krishna district authorities have announced a two-day complete lockdown in the town from April 30.
Nuzvid sub-collector Swapnil Dinakar Pundkar said there will be no relaxation during the total lockdown. Essentials will be supplied at people’s doorstep with the help of 10 pushcarts, he said.
The district authorities have directed officials concerned to intensify the drive to identify primary and secondary contacts during the complete lockdown.
Apart from the vegetable vendor at Nuzvid, a ward volunteer of Krishna Lanka in Vijayawada also tested positive.
The duo is among the 13 persons who tested positive in Krishna district on Wednesday. With this, the total number of infectees in the district increased to 236.
According to official sources, of the 13 positive cases, six belong to Krishna Lanka and three each to Ajit Singh Nagar and Karmika Nagar in Vijayawada.
Sources said the vegetable seller from Nuzvid had purchased vegetables from Rajiv Gandhi Wholesale Market in Vijayawada.
Suspecting the possibility of community transmission of coronavirus from hamalis of Krishna Lanka, the health and medical officials have shifted them to quarantine centres.
The vegetable vendor developed symptoms a couple of days ago and was shifted to COVID-19 designated hospital at Chinna Avutapalli.
Currently, there are four positive patients from Nuzvid. Of them, two positive patients have been discharged and two others are undergoing treatment.
Officials are on the lookout for those who purchased vegetables from the vegetable vendor, who tested positive today. Six cases from Krishna Lanka and three from Karmika Nagar are primary contacts of a truck driver and a foreign returnee, who had tested positive for COVID-19.
The authorities on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of door-to-door survey to identity persons with COVID-19 symptoms. Medical teams are examining the suspect infectees with rapid testing kits.
Collector, CP inspect red zoned in Vijayawada
Krishna collector A Md Imtiaz and city police commissioner (CP) Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao on Wednesday inspected red zones at Machavaram police station and Satyanarayanapuram limits.
They said police and State Disaster Response Force teams would patrol in all red zones of the city.
The district collector and the CP also participated in a vehicle march from Padavalarevu Centre to Meesala Rajeswara Rao Bridge covering BRTS Road, Karmika Nagar and Satyanarayanapuram