Coronavirus in India: Andhra govt shuts educational institutes, places of mass gatherings
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after a high-level meeting on Thursday requested people to not panic and decided that all places of mass gatherings would remain closed.
ll the educational institutions including schools, colleges and coaching centres will remain closed until March 31 as a precautionary measure to prevent and manage the spread of the novel coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the government has not the upcoming SSC exams, which will be held as per schedule.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after a high-level meeting on Thursday requested people to not panic and decided that all places of mass gatherings would remain closed.
The chief minister will also hold a video conference with all the district collectors and monitor the situation. The state has so far recorded three positive Covid-19 cases.
The state government has ordered the closing down of places of mass gathering including malls, cinema halls and places of worship that draw big congregations besides educational institutions till March 31.
However, there is no curb on practising rituals as the restriction does not apply to small temples, mosques and churches.
In addition, bars and restaurants were told to maintain a distance of one metre between each table, and for public transport, officials were asked to avoid overloading and control standing passengers in buses.
The state government has taken all the required measures to tackle Covid-19 and placed strict vigil over foreign returnees.
All those who came from foreign countries were asked to stay isolated in their respective homes. The government is also ready to take action against those who flout the rules.
Meanwhile, the chief minister’s special secretary PV Ramesh said only two cases have tested positive so far and a strict vigil has been kept over the foreign returnees.
Village, ward volunteers, Asha workers and ANMs are also conducting door to door survey to identify people who have returned from foreign countries and people whom returnees have contacted to check their condition.
So far, around 12,500 such people have been identified from the 1.34 crore households; they are currently under isolation.
The deployed staff is responsible to inspect and make sure the returnees are in self-isolation at their residences.
As of Friday, a total of 883 passengers were identified for observation, out of which 607 are currently undergoing isolation and 254 have completed 28 days of isolation.
In addition to these 22 more are under hospital observation.
The state government said it is well-equipped to treat cases of coronavirus and established testing laboratories in SVIMS Tirupati and GGH Vijayawada.
With the approval of ICMR, screening and confirmatory tests are being done at SVIMS Tirupati and screening tests alone in Vijayawada. Proposals were also laid for Kakinada hospital for processing screening tests.
A 24×7 control room (0866-2410978) and 104 helpline number for providing health advice on Covid-19 also established in the state.