'Normal life must commence in green zones': Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the green zones in the state must soon return to normal life with sufficient precautions. Speaking about the increased testing being conducted in the state, he said that the government has a clear understanding of red zones (areas with more than 4 cases), orange zones (areas with 1 to 4 cases) and green zones (areas with zero cases) in the state.  

Earlier in the day, Jagan had participated in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with several other Chief Ministers. 

“Of the 676 mandals in AP, 64 are red zones, 54 are orange, and the remaining 559 are green,” Jagan said. “In the green zones, life must commence as usual. We must still protect them. We need to take precautions like maintaining physical distance of at least 1 metre with others ... and eat healthy food to boost immunity. It may take a little longer to open up public transport, but we will think of relaxing restrictions on private vehicles,” he said. 

He added that industries and economic activity must soon return to normalcy in green zones, apart from agricultural activity. In red and orange zones, it’s inevitable that more precaution is taken, he said. 

Jagan claimed that Andhra Pradesh is conducting 1,396 tests per million population, compared to a national average of 451 per million. He also stated that only 1.61 per cent of the people tested were , while the nationwide positivity rate was 4 per cent. He also claimed that the doubling rate of cases, and mortality rate were also lower for Andhra than the national average.  Listing various measures taken by the state government, including hospital preparation, telemedicine facilities, door to door surveys etc., he said, “In spite of taking all these measures, we are not going to be able to fully defeat it. Even if a single person is left out, it’ll continue to spread.”

He also asked people to avoid stigmatising the disease and discriminating against those who contract it. “We will have to learn to live with corona. It’s not a scary thing … It’s like other contagious diseases like chickenpox or swine flu,” he said.