With COVID-19 infection on the rise again in Andhra Pradesh, administrations of a few urban and semi-urban areas in the state are deciding to go into partial lockdown once again to contain the spread. Authorities in Ongole town of Prakasam district have declared complete lockdown for the next 14 days, starting from Sunday. Anantapur town will also be under partial lockdown starting from Sunday, with free movement allowed only from 6 am to 11 am.
Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy on Sunday said that after the lockdown was lifted, Andhra has registered an average of 230 cases in a day, whereas the daily average during the 68-day lockdown period was around 54 cases. He called for individuals to take social responsibility in curbing the spread.
According to The New Indian Express, the complete lockdown in Ongole means that no APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) buses will be allowed into the town. People will be allowed to step out of their houses to buy essential commodities between 7 and 10 am, and all liquor stores will be closed.
In Anantapur on the other hand, District Collector Gandham Chandrudu said that restrictions will come into place within the town limits from 11 am onwards. However, APSRTC buses arriving into town from other places will be allowed. For passengers who would then have to travel to different parts of the town, dedicated local bus services will be arranged, he said. Hotels and restaurants in the town will remain shut, and door delivery will be allowed.
Adoni town in Kurnool district has been under lockdown from June 15, after a surge in infections attributed to people returning from other states.
In Tirupati, the Municipal Commissioner has reportedly declared that nearly half the wards in the city are now designated as containment zones, asking people to “impose self-lockdown”.
Andhra Pradesh has registered a high number of cases in the past few days, with 499 new COVID-19 patients detected on Saturday, and 477 new patients recorded on Sunday. On Saturday alone, the Health department registered 97 new cases in Anantapur district, 65 in West Godavari, and 51 each in Chittoor and Krishna districts. According to Sunday’s bulletin, East Godavari registered 70 new COVID-19 patients, followed by 66 cases in Krishna district, 58 in Kadapa and 47 in Chittoor.
As of Sunday morning, there are 4,516 active COVID-19 patients in the state while 4,307 people have recovered. The number of active patients has once again superseded the number of patients who have recovered. Ten more deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded on Saturday and Sunday, taking the death toll in the state up to 106.