TIRUPATI: The Chittoor district administration has sounded an alert with an increase in the Covid-19 positivity rate in 21 mandals and directed mandal and municipal task force committees to lay emphasis on bringing it down. Chittoor recorded 284 fresh Covid cases in the 24 hours ending Tuesday 9 am, the highest among all the districts. The State reported 1,546 new infections in the 24 hours ending Tuesday 9 am with a positivity rate of 2.6 per cent.
Collector M Hari Narayanan, in a virtual meeting with the medical and health department and Covid-19 task force officials, said the positivity rate is higher than the recovery rate in the district in the last few days. Considering this as a warning, appropriate measures should be taken to contain the spread of Covid, he said.
“The positivity rate has increased from 2.48 to 2.76 per cent in the last week compared to the previous week. As a result, the active caseload has increased to 3,100 from 2,400. As on Tuesday, Chittoor has a total of 3,054 active cases, which is the second highest in the State,” he said.
The Collector directed them to intensify tracing, testing and treatment along with the vaccination drive to combat the pandemic. “Curbs in containment zones of Renigunta, Thavanampalle, Sadum, Chittoor, Tirupati urban, Nagari, Chinnapanduru, Gangavaram and Baireddipalle should be strictly enforced to bring down the daily Covid count,” he said.
Also primary and secondary contacts of those tested positive should be kept under home isolation and they should be tested for Covid-19. Aggressive testing in areas where more new infections are reported will help curb the spread of Covid, the Collector said.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, one district in Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari) has reported more than 10 per cent positivity rate for the week ending August 2. AP has accounted for 5.08 per cent of the country’s active cases with a total of 20,582. AP has figured in the list of eight States with an active caseload ranging from 10,000 to 1 lakh. However, the Covid spread is on the decline in AP, the ministry added.