14-day lockdown reimposed in Srikakulam due to rise in COVID-19 cases

Several states across India have re-imposed lockdown in specific areas or districts due to the rising COVID-19 cases to control the spread of the virus. In the latest, local authorities of Srikakulam have imposed a lockdown in the town starting from 18 July 2020. The decision was taken due to the increasing cases in the town and will remain effective for the next fourteen days.

Speaking about the decision to Yo! Vizag, L Ramesh, District Public Relations Officer, Srikakulam stated that as per the lockdown rules, only essential commodities will be made available from 6 AM to 1 PM across the town. “No other services other than essential commodities and emergency services will be permitted to operate during the fourteen-day lockdown period. In other areas of Srikakulam like Palasa and Tekkali, the lockdown is voluntarily being followed by the locals. At present, we have imposed the lockdown specifically in the town to slow down the spread of the virus,” said the officer.

As per the information published by the Andhra Pradesh State Command Control Room on 18 July 2020, Srikakulam reported 182 new COVID-19 cases in the last twenty-four hours alone. The district has reported 2034 cases so far, of which 757 patients recovered and have been discharged. Currently, there are 1,261 active cases of patients seeking treatment while 16 people have deceased. Previously, the partial lockdown was enforced in Palasa, Narasannapeta, Ichchapuram, Mandasa, Rajam, Tekkali and Ranasthalam. Srikakulam was a COVID-free district in Andhra Pradesh until the end of April 2020. With Unlock 1.0, however, the district began to report new cases on a daily basis.

Andhra Pradesh, on the whole, has registered 3963 new COVID-19 cases as on Saturday, witnessing a massive jump of 1361 cases in a single day. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh is now at 44,609.