Telangana Likely To Extend Lockdown Till The End Of May

The lockdown in Telangana is likely to be extended till May 28 based on the observations of international experts. According to that, the total clampdown cycle should be of a 70-day duration.

A final decision in this regard, as well as the relaxations announced by the Centre, will be taken at the Cabinet meeting to be chaired by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

With the majority of Covid-19 cases being reported from the 4-districts of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal Malkajgiri, and Vikarabad, the CM instructed the officials for stricter implementation of lockdown without giving any relaxations. He observed that cases had come down drastically in the remaining districts, even as a number of the containment zones were also on the downtrend.

The official said that of the 1,085 total positive cases reported so far in the State, 66 percent (717 cases) are from Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchel and Vikarabad districts. About 82 percent of the 29 patients that succumbed to the infection were also from these districts, they said.

In a status report submitted by the Health Department, Rao found that the majority of the Covid-19 cases reported in the last 10 days belonged to these 4 districts. Due to heavy population density, it was observed that any relaxation to the existing restrictions could lead to the fast spread of the virus.

The situation has improved in other districts. Containment zones number also decreased there. In those districts, red Zones are becoming Orange zones and Orange zones are becoming green,” the report submitted by the Medical and health department stated

Out of the 33 districts in the State, three districts never reported a case, while 17 districts had reported zero cases in the last 14 days.

The State Cabinet that is scheduled to meet today will take up extensive discussion on the report submitted by the Health department and decide on the continuation of the lockdown in the State. The Cabinet is also likely to decide on a further action plan in districts where there are fewer cases.