Night curfew in AP to be extended for a week, said CM Jagan

Despite the second wave of the pandemic subsiding in Vizag, there is the threat of the third wave looming around. District officials are making arrangements to be prepared for the third wave if, and when, it hits Vizag. Meanwhile, the night curfew in AP will be extended to at least one more week. The decision was taken by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, at a Covid-19 review meeting held at his office on Tuesday.

In the last few days, the daily number of Covid-19 cases, in Vizag, has been ranging between 170 to 200. The number for Andhra Pradesh has come down below 3,000. The positivity rate has fallen below 5 percent in all districts of the state.

During the review meeting, CM Jagan stated that vaccination drives are the most important in the state’s fight against Covid-19. He also asked for preparations to be made to tackle the third wave effectively., These include recruiting more doctors and providing Covid-19 gear to police battalions. With schools reopening in the state on 16 August, CM Jagan instructed the vaccination of teachers to be done on a priority basis, once the vaccination of people above 45 years of age is done. He also gave orders for the construction work of paediatric super specialty hospitals coming up in Vizag, Vijayawada and Tirupati to be fast-tracked.

The Chief Minister also enquired about the third wave readiness at all the hospitals in the state. He laid out instructions for more oxygen beds, oxygen cylinders and telemedicine services. Along with this, every hospital in the state, with more than 50 beds, is to be provided with an oxygen plant.

After the earlier drop in cases, a decision had been taken by the State Government to end the partial curfew and impose a night curfew from 10 PM. Now, the night curfew in AP will be extended to one more week. Meanwhile, government offices in the state have been allowed to function at full capacity from now on, as per an order issued by State Chief Secretary, Aditya Nath Das IAS.