Partial lockdown extended in AP till June 20; relaxation timings changed

AP State Government, on Monday, announced that the partial lockdown in the state will be extended till June 20, while Covid-19 relaxation timings will be stretched to 6 am – 2 pm. These timings will come into effect from June 11. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a cabinet meeting on Monday, announced the curfew norms and timings. Observing the active number of cases, the Centre previously advised to continue compliance to the containment measures, so as to fully overcome the pandemic.

It may be recalled that Vizag and the rest of AP have been under partial lockdown from May 2, which was further extended till June 10. While there has been a decline in Covid-19 cases in the city, the active coronavirus cases at present are still very high. So, the government decided to continue the lockdown for a few more days to see much more decline. Also, government offices are allowed to stay open from 8 am to 2 pm.

Imposing a strict curfew to prevent the spread of the virus, the city police have been imposing fines on individuals violating Covid-19 norms during the lockdown. A special drive has also been conducted by police teams from 7-9 pm, so as to keep a check on citizens wandering unnecessarily. Also, GVMC has banned the sale of meat every Sunday to avoid the spread of the virus at the gatherings.

Visakhapatnam has now started reporting daily cases below 600, which is a declining number. Vizag has so far reported a total of 1,41,842 positive cases, while the recovered cases are 1,32,433. With the decline in the number of cases seen in the past weeks, the health officials expect more decline with the extended lockdown.