Hundred and thirty one clusters have been identified in Andhra Pradesh and have been declared as containment zones, in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. A 3-kilometre radius surrounding the cluster will be recognised as a 'containment zone.'
In case of a situation where the virus may spread, the government said that an additional buffer zone of 5-kilometre radius will be created in urban areas and 7-kilometre radius in villages.
The clusters have been identified in 13 districts — Anantapur, Chittoor, East Godavari, Guntur, Kadapa, Krishna, Kurnool, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and West Godavari. Among these, Nellore has the most number of clusters at 30.
The government said that they have sounded a ‘red alert’ and have taken all efforts to contain the disease by creating awareness on quarantining and the need for social distancing. The government added that they have begun testing people suspected of the disease and isolating contacts to prevent community transmission.
The containment zones have been completely sealed-off, and no one except those part of medical services and government services will be allowed to step out. At entry and exit points, a thermal scanner has been installed to detect coronavirus patients. The movement of all vehicles has been restricted.
In the containment zones, all roads would be under police surveillance. The contacts of coronavirus patients shall be identified and listed within 12 hours, and then will be tracked down, the government said in a release.
According to the Centre's notification for containment zones, other than active and passive surveillance of all people living in the area for any symptoms and contact tracing in these zones, authorities can also conduct perimeter control to ensure there is no outward movement from the zone and no influx of people.
Meanwhile, on Friday, 16 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, taking the overall total to 381 in the state. With six deaths and 10 people discharged, the state presently has 365 active cases. The state has collected a total of 6,374 samples out of which 5,993 samples have been tested negative.