A day after the Telangana government extended the state-wide lockdown by 10 days, the government of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh also announced that the partial lockdown in the state will be in effect until June 10, with the exception of Chittoor district, which will be under lockdown until June 15. The time period in which movement of people is allowed continues to be from 6 am to 10 am, as announced earlier.
The decision to extend the lockdown has been taken in view of the COVID-19 case count in the state, which continues to be on the rise. As per the state COVID-19 bulletin issued on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh recorded 13,400 new cases and 94 deaths. Chittoor district is among the worst-hit in the state. On Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy, Ministers P Ramachandra Reddy and M Goutham Reddy said that the 18-hour curfew would be extended to 20 hours, reducing the time when people are allowed to move about by 2 hours. The Ministers said that Chittoor district remains critical, as it borders the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
According to the COVID-19 medical bulletin, East Godavari district recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state on Sunday with 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.