Koyambedu-Related Cases Also Increase Covid Count

Vijayawada: After Andhra Pradesh opened its borders to stranded workers and students about 10 days ago, a new challenge has surfaced. Many of the returnees have tested positive for Covid-19. On Tuesday alone, 38 migrant workers, who deboarded at Guntakal railway station from a special train from Mumbai, were diagnosed with the disease.
Meanwhile, Chennai’s Koyambedu market continued to push the numbers up in Chittoor, Nellore, Kurnool, Anantapur and East Godavari districts. In Chittoor alone, nearly 50 Covid confirmed cases have links to the wholesale market. The Tamil Nadu-bordering Nellore district, which witnessed a downward trend in the last few days, registered 15 Koyambedu-related Covid cases. Even distant East Godavari district recorded five Koyambedu market-related infections in Konaseema area, raising concern among district officials. Vizianagaram district, which remained Covid-free till May 6, has only four Covid cases, of which three are migrant workers.
Even before the Koyambedu-related cases set alarm bells ringing in the state, 10 pilgrims, who reached Rajahmundry on April 4, tested positive for the disease. While nine pilgrims belong to West Godavari, the tenth person is from East Godavari. Nine among these 10 infected people are aged above 60 years, including four aged above 70. According to official statistics, 73 people from other states so far tested positive for the disease, including Maharashtra (38), Gujarat (26), Odisha (8) and Karnataka (1).
However, those who arrived from other states are kept at quarantine centres besides being screened for Covid. Even after the 14-day mandatory stay at government-run quarantine centres, they have to observe a 14-day home isolation period, to ensure that the transmission rate is almost zero. This comes as a relief for state officials as it does away with the need of identifying containment clusters and carrying out disease surveillance activities in those areas.
Covid state nodal officer A Srikanth said the containment cluster strategy is not applicable to Covid cases detected in migrant workers or the people returned from other states as they are already in quarantine centres.

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