Andhra Pradesh will be put under night curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state from Saturday. The restrictions will be in place from 10pm to 5am, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
Only essential and emergency services, like medical and health, milk supply, will be allowed,” deputy chief minister (Health) AKK Srinivas (Nani) told reporters after a high-level Covid review meeting, chaired by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The CM further declared that the state government will administer Corona vaccine free of cost to all people aged 18 years and above in each of the 13 districts of AP.
Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to accordingly place orders with manufacturers for vaccines. As per an estimate, in all, 2,04,70,364 people across the state will have to be vaccinated.
The Chief Minister told officials to focus on uninterrupted supply of oxygen and Remdesivir vials while ensuring that they are not black marketed. He said he has received complaints about hospitals overcharging patients for Covid treatment. He underlined that strict action must be taken against such practices.
Jagan Mohan Reddy asked officials to conduct class X, inter, degree and engineering examinations as per the schedule without causing any inconvenience to students. Those tests should be conducted in total compliance with Covid guidelines to ensure the wellbeing of each student.
Officials present at the meeting informed the CM that there is a delay in supply of oxygen due to insufficient number of vehicles. Only 64 of them are available whereas at least 100–120 vehicles will be required to meet the current demand. Officials pointed out that 515 metric tonnes of oxygen is the requirement once all oxygen beds in the state are occupied. Currently, 284 metric tonnes of oxygen is being used on an average in government and private hospitals.
In this regard, officials said they have requested the central government to supply 100 metric tonnes of oxygen to the state from RINL, Vizag; apart from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
