The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to prioritize vaccination for students and migrants leaving for abroad for studies and work. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the above two categories of people should be vaccinated and provided with a vaccination certificate. The other south Indian states which prioritized vaccination for students and migrant workers include Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka. On Sunday, Telangana said that based on the admission letters of the students leaving for abroad, they would be prioritized for the vaccination.
Andhra Pradesh has also extended the lockdown in the state until June 10, in view of the COVID-19 cases. The time period in which movement of people is allowed continues to be from 6 am to 10 am, as announced earlier.
As per the state COVID-19 bulletin issued on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh recorded 13,400 new cases and 94 deaths. East Godavari district in the state recorded the highest number of 2,598 cases, followed by Chittoor district with 1,971. These were followed by Anantapur (1,215), Visakhapatnam (1,054), West Godavari (968), Krishna (858), Guntur (848), Kurnool (712), Kadapa (701), Nellore (652), Srikakulam (623), and Vizianagaram (362) cases.
Among the 94 deaths due to COVID-19 reported in the state, Chittoor saw the highest, with 14 deaths. Nine each died in West Godavari and Prakasam; eight each died in Anantapur, East Godavari, Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam; six each in Vizianagaram and Krishna; five each from Nellore and Kurnool and four each from Guntur and Kadapa. Out of the total 16,85,142 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh, 15,08,515 people have recovered. The state currently has 1,65,795 active cases, with 10,832 deaths due to COVID-19 reported so far.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to develop the medical infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh by establishing 14 medical colleges in the state. The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for these colleges virtually on Monday, considering the pandemic situation.