With many COVID-19 cases reported even from remote villages in Vizianagaram district, the administration has focused on controlling the spread of the virus in rural areas with a multi-faceted approach. For this purpose, special teams were formed in all 34 mandals, including the tribal areas.
With fever a major symptom of COVID-19, officials have conducted a door-to-door survey of villages and so far recorded 2,63,248 homes against a total of 7,47,312 in the district. The results of the survey, which is expected to be completed in a few weeks, will help authorities take corrective action.
Given the demand for vaccines from villages, more centers are likely to be set up in rural areas as the existing 67 centers are mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was given to 2.53,861 people and two doses to 1.02,432 people in the district. Officials plan to step up testing in rural areas. There are currently 4,000 tests being performed per day, which will soon increase to 6,000.
In the past two weeks, 12,588 out of 47,636 people tested positive.
Collector M. Hari Jawaharlal, who conducted a review meeting with senior officials, said the recovery rate among patients admitted to hospitals and COVID care centers was good at 87.3% and 95.9%, respectively. The recovery rate is 83.8% for the patients in domestic isolation. “We are prioritizing the distribution of isolation kits for rapid patient recovery, and 6,115 out of 6,662 have them, which is the highest in the state at 91.79%,” said Hari Jawaharlal.