The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday extended the partial curfew in the state till June 30 but gave relaxation in the timings, reported the Hindustan Times.
The curfew in the state will be in force from 6 pm to 6 am daily from June 21. The chief minister’s office in a statement said that shops will, however, need to be shut at 5 pm. Currently, the curfew is relaxed between 6 am and 1 pm, with a grace period of one hour for the residents to return home.
The new order said that the curfew timings in just East Godavari will be in force from 2 pm to 6 am because of a high Covid-19 positivity rate in the district.
It said that government offices will function normally from June 21. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked the authorities to ensure 100% attendance of employees.
The curfew was first imposed in the state on May 5, when daily Covid-19 cases were around 20,000, according to The News Minute. Now, the daily infection count is around 6,000.
On Thursday, the state reported 6,151 Covid-19 cases, pushing the infection tally to 18,32,902 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The toll climbed to 12,167 after 58 people died. There are currently 69,831 active cases in the state. Among the 13 districts, East Godavari recorded the highest number of cases at 1,244.
Meanwhile, the state government also announced various measures it was taking to counter a possible third wave of Covid-19. These include hiring more doctors and setting up three paediatric care centres costing Rs 180 crore each. These centres will be constructed in Guntur, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.
The state government, however, has not cancelled the Class 10 and 12 board exams. On Thursday, state Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh said the government would take a decision about exams at an appropriate time.
“Our stand has been the same from the beginning,” Suresh said. “We want to conduct the examinations only in the interest of the students’ future.”
The Central Board of Secondary Education, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations and various states have cancelled the exams for Class 10 and 12 students in view of the health crisis.
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