GUNTUR: Get ready to pay Rs 1,000 fine if you venture out of your house and move in public places in Guntur city without wearing a face mask.
With the number of COVID-19 positive cases increasing in the entire district and particularly in Guntur city, District Collector I Samuel Anand Kumar on Thursday announced that any individual found moving in the streets without a face mask will be imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.
On Thursday, the total number of cases in the district touched 51, which is the second highest in the entire State.
Not just imposing restrictions on common people, government employees too were asked to reach their offices before 10 am and not to go out till the office closing time.
They would now be allowed to leave office and reach their destinations only between 5 and 7 pm that too after getting a pass.
Anand Kumar advised the people to prefer tele-medicine for general health problems by contacting medical professionals over phone. He said that cancer patients undergoing treatment for chemotherapy and kidney patients for dialysis will not be restricted.
Urging the people to download Arogya Sethu App for the precautions to be taken, he said the employees should follow self-isolation in their houses and follow lockdown norms strictly. “People are roaming on the roads despite lockdown. We will act tough against those who come on to the roads without valid reason,” he said and asked people to go to markets to purchase essential commodities and vegetables between 6 and 9 am everyday. Social distancing should be followed while purchasing essential commodities, vegetables and medicines, he said.
Meanwhile, with one death reported in Narasaraopet, DSP Veera Reddy warned the public to stay indoors and cooperate with police in implementing the lockdown strictly. He urged the public to give information if anyone needs medical care in their locality. More than 15 family members were shifted to the quarantine centre, who were first contacts of Covid-19 positive case. Narasaraopet MLA G Srinivasa Reddy said the town was divided into five zones for better surveillance and to facilitate conduct of a door-to-door survey by ANMs and Asha workers as a measure to combat coronavirus.
Red Zones in Guntur city
Mangaldas Nagar, 3rd lane Buchaiah Thota, Auto Nagar, 6, 8 lanes of Anandapet, Sangadigunta, Darga Manyam, 6, 9, 12 lanes of Srinivasaraopet, Koritepadu, Chaitanyapuri and Redla Bazar in Guntur Municipal Corporation
Other places
25, 26 and 27 wards of Macherla, Tipparla Bazar in Mangalagiri, Sharaf Bazar in Ponnuru, Arundelpet, Ramireddypeta, Varavakatta in Narasaraopet, Karampudi, Achempet and Medikonduru