East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy on Tuesday issued an order, imposing partial lockdown across the district from June 25 as part of the COVID-19 containment strategy.
Shops, commercial establishments, liquor outlets and places worship will be permitted to carry out their activities only between 6 a.m.and 11 a.m. Also, inter-district movement of people has been prohibited until further orders. An exception will be made in case of medical emergency. All academic institutions will remain closed.
The fresh guidelines were finalised at a high-level meeting attended by Kakinada City MLA D. Chandrasekhar Reddy, Joint Collector (Development) Ch. Keerthi and officials concerned. .
Testing centres
Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy said at least 10 testing centres would soon be set up in Kakinada Municipal Corporation limits. “On Monday alone, the city witnessed 24 new cases, forcing the district authorities to come out with more containment measures,” he said.
Meanwhile, the tally in the district crossed the 900-mark with 106 persons testing positive for the virus since Monday, according to the bulletin issued by the district authorities on Tuesday.
Cases on the rise in Chelluru
Of them, As many as 96 are of locals and the rest are of those who arrived in the district from various places. The death toll as of Tuesday is 10.
District Medical and Health Officer M. Mallik told The Hindu that Chelluru panchayat alone had witnessed 22 new cases since Monday morning. So far, 107 persons have tested positive in the panchayat.
The district authorities have stopped revealing the data on the spread of the virus at the mandal and city levels, reportedly to avoid panic among the public.