Chittoor District COVID Vaccination Specialist M. Sireesha said they had to cut down on the four-day Tika Utsav vaccine festival due to lack of vaccine doses. The program would not run across the district until April 14, for which more than 50,000 cans were held.
“There might be some delay in the arrival of vaccine doses for now, but every single person in the district would be covered according to the schedules, with the current focus on people 45 and over,” she said.
Meanwhile, the district recorded 654 COVID cases on Monday, a slight decrease from the last two days’ numbers, which rose to 1,459.
Although the District Police Department has stepped up efforts to enforce the face mask rule in all vulnerable areas, particularly in the border towns and villages bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the success rate is estimated to be less than 50%.
Masks distributed
To intensify the campaign, Police Superintendent S. Senthil Kumar has initiated the distribution of masks to the public in several places under the boundaries of the Chittoor municipal bodies. He appealed to the public to make wearing face masks a top priority in the venture as it is the first line of defense against the virus.
Heavy fines
Public Relations Officer (District Police Department) Nayeem Baig said police officers in all mandals of the Madanapalle, Palamaner, Chittoor and Puttur subdivisions had fined the public heavy fines in violation of the face mask rule. This campaign will be further intensified, he said.
District collector M. Hari Narayanan held an emergency meeting with officials from the Ministry of Health in Tirupati on Monday to take stock of the COVID situation in the municipal enterprises in Tirupati and Chittoor.
He directed all medical and paramedical workers to be ready to resume COVID duties as the Ditrict has seen an exponential increase in cases. The collector said more than 3,500 beds were held in both government and private facilities and the number would be increased if necessary.