Andhra Pradesh will institute a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am amid rising cases in the state, a press release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. A decision taken by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after a review meeting with the state health department. However, no dates were specified in the release. Further details will be given in the guidelines issued by the health department.
For theatres in the state, 50% occupancy is allowed with alternate seating, along with masks being mandatory. Masks are also compulsory on public transport as well as in temples, with a penalty of Rs 100 for not wearing marks. There is no cap on going to temples, but physical distancing must be followed, the release said.
For gatherings outdoors, the number of attendees is limited to 200 and indoors, it is limited to 100. There will be one COVID care center per constituency, and hospitals will use rapid antigen tests for urgent testing, it added.
Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, January 9, reported 1,257 fresh cases of COVID-19, the highest in a day after September 24, 2021. The cumulative positives now increased to 20,81,859, the latest bulletin said. In 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday, the state also reported 140 recoveries and two more deaths, the bulletin said.
The number of active cases shot up to 4,774 after a total of 20,62,580 recoveries and 14,505 deaths, it added. Chittoor district registered the highest at 254 fresh cases, followed by Visakhapatnam (196), Anantapur (138), Krishna (117), Guntur (104) and SPS Nellore (103).
East Godavari reported 93, followed by Vizianagaram (83) and Srikakulam (55) while the remaining four districts added less than 40 new cases each.