The Telangana government on Tuesday announced a 10-day lockdown in view of the sudden surge in coronavirus cases in the state. The lockdown will be implemented from May 12 till May 22. However, all essential activities will be allowed daily between 6 am to 10 am.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, in presence of Council of Ministers to review the Covid-19 situation in the state. The meeting also resolved to call for global tenders to procure Covid-19 vaccines.
An official tweet from the Chief Minister’s office read, The State Cabinet has decided to impose lockdown for 10 days starting 10 am tomorrow. The lockdown will be relaxed from 6 am to 10 am daily for all the activities. The Council of Ministers has also decided to invite global tenders for procuring Covid19 vaccine, it said. The complete guidelines for enforcement of lockdown shall be reportedly released later today.
The development comes days after the Telangana government had said that it will not impose a lockdown whether be partial or total to contain the spread of coronavirus, as it will lead to the collapse of the financial system in the state.
Meanwhile, the cabinet discussed the surging coronavirus cases in the state, the pros and cons of the lockdown were also discussed as some believed that a lockdown did not bring down cases in certain states. The adverse impact a lockdown may have on the ongoing procurement of paddy in the state was also part of the discussion.
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As of Monday, Telangana registered 4,826 fresh cases, pushing the overall caseload to more than 5 lakh. With 32 Covid related deaths, the total fatalities has reached 2,771. The state has an active caseload of 62,797 cases. 65,923 tests were conducted on Monday, results of 2,345 were awaited.
With 4,826 new infections, the test positivity rate stood at 7.6 percent. Total recoveries for the day outnumbered the new infections and stood at 7,754.