TIRUPATI: The rising Covid-19 cases are back to haunt the people of Chittoor district, which remains one of the state's top three worst-affected districts, with Omicron and Covid cases rapidly increasing in recent weeks.
The tail-end district has registered 1,534 Covid-19 positive cases in the last 24 hours, the highest daily total in the state as of Tuesday, while the Tirupati Urban Limits continues to be the contributor for the highest number of cases in the district.
According to reports, there were 540 cases in the Tirupati Municipal Corporation borders, followed by 166 in the Chittoor Corporation. The six municipalities of Madanapalle, Srikalahasti, Punganur, Puttur, Nagari and Palamaner witnessed 118 infections, and the remaining 710 cases were spread over 65 mandals in the rural areas.
The graph of daily Covid cases have crossed the 1,000-mark in the district for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday. The active caseload in the district has jumped to 8,332 now and the total number of positive cases recorded till date was 2,57,640, of which 2,47,347 people were recovered and 1,961 succumbed to the virus.
The spike in cases has once again impacted the temple tourism in the tail-end district, which is home to several well-known temples, including Tirumala's Lord Venkateswara temple, Srikalahasti, and Kanipakam. Even as the Omicron worry threatens the temple city's thriving tourism business, with many visiting devotees cancelling last-minute reservations, the hospitality industry remains the worst-hit, with no signs of recovery in sight.
They are urging the public to follow all Covid standards including the use of face masks, social distancing methods, and appropriate Covid-19 behaviour.
