MACHILIPATNAM: A complete lockdown will be in place in Machilipatnam from August 3-9 in order to contain the further spread of COVID-19, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) NSK Khajvalli said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters here, he said there were numerous COVID-19 cases in the Machilipatnam revenue division.

"So, we have decided on imposing the week-long full lockdown in Machilipatnam constituency and Challapalli and Nagayalanka mandals from August 3-9," he said.

He urged the public not to step out of their houses unless there is an emergency.

People can shop for essential commodities between 6 am and 9 am.

He said a decision has been taken to ramp up testing of asymptomatic and suspected COVID-19 patients with the help of ward/village volunteers.

The RDO said 250 beds would be arranged at the district government hospital here along with a triage centre.

Besides, he said, four additional ambulances would be added to the existing fleet and private school buses would be utilised for sample collection in rural areas.