The Andhra Pradesh government has released a list of services that will resume in the state after April 20, in areas that have not reported too many cases of COVID-19, in line with the guidelines issued by the Indian government.
In the agriculture sector, the state said that farming operations by farmers and workers can go on along with all activities for procurement of agriculture products, besides shops of agricultural machinery and its spare parts.
'Mandis' (market yards), operated by agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) and Custom Hiring Centres (CHCs), will also be functional besides manufacturing, distribution and retail of fertilizers, pesticides and seeds.
In the fisheries sector, the state government said that “all operations of fishing and its sales (marine and inland), aquaculture industry, hatcheries and feed plants" will resume their services. Movement of fish, shrimp and other seafood will be allowed and those who work in the industry can resume their duties.
Coming to plantations, operations of tea, coffee and rubber plantations with a maximum of 50% workers will be allowed. The state government said that processing, packaging, sale and marketing of these products will also be allowed, but with 50% workforce.
"All activities from collection to sale of milk and milk products will resume along with the operation of animal husbandry farms, including poultry farms and hatcheries and animal feed manufacturing plants," the state government added.
The state government also issued a list of services that will be operational in the health, financial and social sectors. While most services in the health sector are functional, in the financial sector, the state government said that banks could resume work as per normal working hours and insurance companies could also resume their work. In the social sector, disbursement of social security pensions and provident fund (PF) services can take place and Anganwadis in the state will resume operations.
The ease in relaxations will only be applicable to areas that have not been declared as hotspots or red zones. The state government is expected to issue further instructions on Sunday.
As on Saturday evening, the state has reported 603 cases of COVID-19 with 42 people discharged and 16 people dead. There are presently 545 active cases in Andhra Pradesh.
Kurnool district has the most number of cases in the state with 132, followed by the districts of Guntur at 125, Krishna at 70 and Nellore at 67.