Learn from Jawadhu Hill how to turn COVID-free

Appreciating the people for their disciple, Tiruvannamalai Collector KS Kandasamy said, “They may not wear masks, but they follow social distancing and are more disciplined than their plains counterparts and hence there has been no positive case or any fatality.”

Earlier in May, the local residents were shocked with 14 tribals returning from Karnataka testing positive for the virus.

The tribals then took it with gusto to curb the spread and ordered their relatives working in the pepper estates of Karnataka not to come home. “That was an eye opener for local residents who immediately blocked all villages/hamlets with thorny bushes with some going to the extent of barricading their houses announcing clearly that visitors were not welcome,” the official said.

One of the ways the tribals prevent infection was by cooperating with the staff at the forest check posts at Alangayam and at Amirthi where plainsmen, who enter the hills are stopped and isolated for seven days.

“They are supplied food by the residents of the house they planned to visit. The isolation ensures that not many are willing to enter the hills now,” a forest official said.