Night Curfew extended in Andhra Pradesh till 14 August

Keeping in mind the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19, the Andhra Pradesh State Government has extended the night curfew in the state till 14 August. On Friday, Principal Secretary (Ministry of Health, Medical and Family Welfare) AK Singhal IAS announced that all the districts will continue to have night curfew from 10 pm – 6 am till 14 August. This was a part of the State Government’s efforts to limit the spread of the virus. 

Mr. Singhal also stated that the State Government has been taking several steps to stop the spread of COVID-19, especially focusing on testing, vaccination and proper health care at the hospitals. It may be recalled that after the drop in Covid-19 cases, the partial curfew was discontinued and a night curfew was kept in place. Continuing the same, restaurants, shops, malls and food points were told to close by 10 pm. Police patrolling starts from 9.30 pm, imposing fines on those who violate curfew norms after 10 pm. 

In the last few days, the daily number of Covid-19 cases in the city has been above 100, especially affecting the youth of Vizag. The Andhra Pradesh State Government is aiming to flatten the Covid-19 curve and hence, has extended the night curfew. Vaccination drives in the city and Andhra Pradesh are being conducted diligently. AP recently became the 10th state to complete 2 crore vaccinations and one among five states in the country to vaccinate more women. So far, 2,13,81,536 doses of vaccines have been completed in the state of which 1,05,07,102 people were vaccinated under a single dose and 54,37,217 people have completed both their doses.

Vaccination drives in the government sector are, in general, going well, with focus on teachers, women with children below five years and pregnant women. On the other hand, out of the 43,38,000 doses given to private hospitals in May, June and July, only 5,24,347 have been administered. 

CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy wants to study the strategies being employed by other states. A committee has been appointed to know about the vaccination process in other states and accordingly recommend changes for AP. The daily positivity rate in the state is around 2.51 percent and recovery rate is 98.25 percent. With private hospitals instructed to treat Covid-19 under the Aarogyasri scheme, 75.25 per cent of the beds in private hospitals fall under the Aarogyasri scheme. 

As preparation for the third wave, about 1000 Oxygen concentrators and 1500 D-type Oxygen cylinders have been allocated to Vizag. Oxygen concentrators are said to have been made available at all the primary health centers in the city.