Telangana is joining other states across the country and imposing a lockdown for 10 days from May 12 in order to stem the spiraling Covid-19 cases.
The K Chandrasekhar Rao cabinet on Tuesday reviewed the pandemic situation in the state and decided to impose a 20-hour lockdown daily from Wednesday.
Shops would be open and daily activities would be allowed only between 6 am and 10 am. Government offices would work with 33 per cent staff. Only 40 members are allowed for marriages with prior permission, while only 20 are allowed for funerals.
Cinema halls, swimming pools, clubs, gyms, amusement parks, and sports stadiums etc will remain closed.
The state cabinet will meet again on May 20 to review the situation and decide if the lockdown should be extended.
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The decision followed the observations of the Telangana High Court that the TRS government was not implementing the Covid-19 control measures like night curfews seriously.
The court has reportedly questioned the government on mass religious gatherings. It was earlier believed that the government would implement a lockdown after Eid this Friday. The cabinet has instructed DGP Mahender Reddy to strictly implement the lockdown, following Covid-19 guidelines.
The court has also pointed out the drastic reduction in Covid-19 tests, which in turn results in a lower number of official positive cases.
The state which used to test over one lakh samples for a few days lowered the number in the last several days. Only 75,289 samples were examined on Tuesday, and 4,801 positive cases were reported.
The total number of active cases in Telangana as of Tuesday is given as 60,136.
The court has also reportedly expressed ire over the “inhumane” Telangana police action of stopping the ambulances coming from Andhra Pradesh and turning away the Covid-19 patients needing medical care in Hyderabad.
The KCR cabinet has decided to invite global tenders for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
It has also instructed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to make Covid-19 related medicines, oxygen and injections like Remdesivir available for hospitals in the private sector and government sector.
The CM spoke with the manufacturers of Remdesivir and asked them to supply the required quantities of the drug. A task force headed by IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao would ensure regular procurement and supply of the medicines and injections.
Sectors and services exempted from lockdown
Works related to the agriculture produce, allied sectors, works undertaken with the agriculture machines, running of the rice mills, transport of the paddy and rice, supplying paddy to the FCI, fertilizer and seeds shops, seed manufacturing companies, and other agri based sectors.
Pharmaceutical companies, firms manufacturing medical equipment, medical distributors, medical shops, all types of medical and health services, government and private hospitals. Staff of these sectors would be given special passes.
Supply of drinking water, sanitation works in rural and urban areas.
Power generation, distribution and their allied services
Transportation on national highways.
Petrol and diesel pumps would be open on the national highways.
Warehousing and cold storage activities are exempted.
Print and electronic media.
EGS works are exempted
Banks and ATMs would operate
Check posts to be set up on the borders of Telangana.
Public transports like the RTC and Metro are available from 6 AM to 10 AM.
Public Distribution System (ration shops) opened from 6 AM to 10 AM.
LPG cylinders supply would continue as usual.