Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has decided to extend the Covid-19 restrictions in the state till the May end.
Despite an 18-hour curfew imposed since May 5, the Covid-19 infections have not come under control yet.
AP has been reporting over 20,000 cases daily for the last several days. On Sunday, when the samples tested went down to 73,749, the positive cases recorded were 18,561.
There are over 2.11 lakh active cases in the state at present.
During a review on the pandemic situation and vaccination status at his camp office at Amaravati on Monday, the Chief Minister said that a curfew of a minimum of four weeks is needed to contain the spread.
CM said that the guidelines will be the same for the extended curfew, which will be in effect from 12 pm to 6 am. Reddy asked the officials to ensure that the cases do not rise in the rural areas and to focus on developing medical etc., facilities in the Covid Care Centers.
Health officials said that they have identified nine black fungus cases across the state. The chances of black fungus infection are high among diabetics and patients using excessive steroids.
The CM has directed the officials to include black fungus under the state-sponsored health insurance scheme - Arogyasri and to draft a protocol to identify the black fungus cases at an early stage.
The Chief Minister has asked the officials to prepare an action plan to aid the children who lost their parents due to Covid-19. Reddy directed Rs 10 lakh per such child to be deposited in the banks in their name and the interest utilised for their needs.
Officials informed that out of 47,825 beds in the 625 Covid care hospitals across the state, 38,492 beds are occupied and that 25,539 patients are given treatment under Arogyasri.
While 590 MT per day oxygen is allocated to the state, the demand in all the government and private hospitals is varying from 590 MT to 610 MT. AP made a request to the centre to allot an oxygen express with 80 MT capacity every day from Jamnagar in Gujarat and requested that 130 MT oxygen be supplied from Bellary.