VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to extend the ongoing partial curfew to contain the spread of COVID-19 till June 10. The curfew relaxation timings would be the same -- 6 am to noon -- during which Section 144, which prohibits gathering of more than five people, would be in place.
The state government initially imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in the last week of April following a sharp surge in COVID-19 infections.
With the spike in cases continuing, the government imposed partial curfew from noon to 6 am on the netx day from May 5. During the partial curfew, shops and businesses were allowed to open from 6 am to noon only. Section 144 was put in force during the relaxation time to prevent gathering of more than five persons.
Even as the spike in new infections has come down in recent days, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who took stock of the situation with officials on Monday, decided to extend the partial curfew till June 10 with the same relaxation hours.
Meanwhile, the curfew relaxation hours would be curtailed to 6 am to 10 am only from June 1 in view of the high number of cases being reported in the district.