On the day the nation-wide lockdown was extended till May 3, the district recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases. With 16 positive results emerging on Tuesday, the total number of cases has gone up to 109. But this is also a result of the increased scale of testing, as more labs have been operationalised. A total of 2,148 samples have been tested so far.
The day also saw some relief for people as the district administration has decided to relax restrictions from 6 am to 9 am daily.
District Collector I. Samuel Ananda Kumar said that the earlier decision to allow people out only on alternative days stands cancelled.
The Collector also said that those who had completed 14 days of quarantine and tested negative for coronavirus could now opt for home quarantine under medical supervision.
Meanwhile, the district administration focussed its energies on cluster containment of red zones. Now that Anandapet has emerged as a hotspot with many cases coming up, the administration has decided to scale up testing and move people out of their homes to quarantine centres.
Quarantine centres
The houses built by the APTIDCO (Andhra Pradesh Township And Infrastructure Development Corporation) have now been turned into quarantine centres. The housing colonies at Adavitakkellapadu and Chowdavaram have emerged as ideal quarantine centres as they have power and water facilities. The district administration has identified 28 shelters, where facilities for providing food and lodging would be scaled up.
The Collector along with DIG Ramakrishna and other officers visited the red zones in Old Guntur and assured the people that things would be returning to normal soon and asked them to voluntarily come for testing.
Essential supplies would be provided at the doorstep of people, they said.