VIJAYAWADA: With new Covid infections coming down, the State government on Monday decided to relax curfew from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m and let cinemas, restaurants, gyms and function halls reopen from July 8 following strict Covid protocols in all districts except East and West Godavari. Alternate seating should be strictly followed in cinemas and restaurants. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the State, took the decisions following deliberations with the officials concerned.
The twin Godavari districts, however, will have to wait for these relaxations till the positivity rate comes down to below five per cent. East Godavari continues to report the highest number of cases per day. On Sunday, 662 cases were reported and on Monday, 583 cases were confirmed. West Godavari too is reporting cases on the higher side compared to other districts with 398 cases detected on Sunday and 217 on Monday.
All the commercial establishments in the rest of the State have been directed to down the shutters by 9 p.m. and officials have been ordered to ensure all the Covid protocols and Covid appropriate behaviour like wearing masks, maintaining physical distance, and usage of sanitisers are strictly adhered to.
Focus on vaccinating teachers: CM
They were asked to take a call as per the developing situation pertaining to Covid-19. Following a spurt in Covid cases, the government had initially imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. From May 5, the curfew was extended to 18 hours with relaxation being given from 6 am to 12 noon. Later, the curfew was extended till June 20 with relaxation from 6 am to 2 pm.
Thereafter, curfew was further extended till June 30 with relaxation from 6 a.m .to 6 p.m. After reviewing the situation, curfew was further extended till July 7 with relaxation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m in eight districts and 6 am. to 6 p.m. in five districts. On Monday, the curfew relaxation hours were revised further.
Taking stock of the progress in vaccination, the Chief Minister advised the officials to focus more on it and give priority to vaccinating teachers. “Once 90 per cent of vaccination for 45+ age groups has been completed, vaccination on a priority should be given to teachers, mothers of children aged above five years, pregnant women and government employees, department-wise as per priority,” he was quoted as saying. At present, along with those in the 45+ age group, mothers of children aged below five are also being vaccinated.
Explaining the progress of vaccination, the officials informed that 1,28,84,202 people have been vaccinated, and of them, 32,58,886 were given both first and second doses, while 96,25,316 were administered a single dose so far. They further explained that the recovery rate in the state as on date was 97.47, positivity rate 3.66 per cent and in five districts, it is less than 3 per cent. At present, 6,542 are being treated in hospitals, 5,364 are being treated at Covid Care Centres and 23,419 are in home isolation. 93.40 per cent of patients undergoing treatment in network hospitals are covered under Aarogyasri and when private hospitals alone are taken into consideration, it is 76.26 per cent. The number of calls received at 104 Call Centre too has dropped to just 703.
As for the black fungus cases, 3,670 have been reported so far including 33 in the 24 hours ending Monday morning. Of the total black fungus cases, 295 fatalities were reported while 2,075 have been discharged and rest are undergoing treatment.. They also briefed the Chief Minister of the progress made in installation of 134 oxygen generation plants at 97 locations across the state. Currently, 15,000 oxygen concentrators are ready for use. The Chief Minister directed the officials to ground all the oxygen generation plants in two months.