The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday decided to extend the curfew till May 31 as the coronavirus graph continued to be on a steep upward spiral in the State.
The government decided also to deposit an amount of Rs 10 lakh each to children orphaned due to the death of parents from Covid-19.
The Covid-19 curfew, daily from noon to 6 AM that came into force on May 5, was supposed to end on Tuesday but, at a high-level review meeting on the pandemic, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to extend it till the month-end.
The State added 1,43,684 cases in the first week of May and the number shot up to 1,90,117 during May 8-16. It reported over 20,000 cases per day, with a record 24,171 on May 16, in the last six days, clearly indicating that the curfew has had no impact.
The curfew should be in force at least for four weeks to achieve the desired results (breaking the coronavirus chain).
So continue it, the Chief Minister directed the authorities.
Later, Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal issued a formal order extending the curfew.
In view of the Budget session of the Legislature from May 20, MLCs, MLAs, officers and staff of the Council and the Assembly have been exempted from the curfew restrictions.
They would, however, be required to duly follow the Covid-19 protocol, the Principal Secretary said in the order.
A release from the Chief Ministers Office said Jagan asked the health officials to take steps to bring down the Covid-19 cases, particularly in rural areas.
The Chief Minister asked the officials also to take care of children who lose their parents to Covid-19.
Prepare an action plan on extending required financial assistance to such children. Deposit Rs 10 lakh each in their name so that they can utilise the monthly interest for their regular needs, Jagan said.
