VISAKHAPATNAM: AS many as 22 employees at the Visakhapatnam district Collectorate have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting officials to regulate the entry of the public. Between 280 and 300 staff, including officers, were tested over the past two days, Visakhapatnam Collector V Vinay Chand said on Wednesday. The premises was sanitised, he said, adding that those who tested positive were taken to Covid hospitals and contact tracing is underway. About 80-100 primary contacts, mostly employees’ relatives, were identified, and as per protocol, are being shifted to quarantine centres.
A tahsildar from the district also tested positive for the virus. Stating that it is not yet known how the staff contracted the virus, Chand said it could have been from people who hailed from containment zones or asymptomatic visitors to the Collectorate. With the entry of visitors being regulated, a complaint box has been placed at the main gate to receive grievances. Arrangements have been made to deploy only 50 per cent of staff, and those above the age of 55 years and people with comorbidities have been told to stay home.