Telangana extends lockdown till April 30

CM K Chandrashekhar Rao says that there was every possibility that Telangana would be coronavirus-free by April 24, going by the present trend 

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Cabinet on Saturday unanimously decided to extend the lockdown till April 30.Announcing this at a media conference at Pragathi Bhavan here, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said there was every possibility that Telangana would be coronavirus-free by April 24, going by the present trend. The lockdown, however, was being extended as a precautionary measure and to check the spread of the virus. “The lockdown will be implemented very strictly,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the State had recorded 14 deaths and the number of active cases in the State was 393. All the Covid-19 positive patients from the first batch, mostly foreign returnees, and the secondary cases that followed, totaling 96, have been discharged. The total number of corona positive cases in the State as on Saturday was 503, he said, adding that a total of 1,654 persons were under quarantine in various facilities with symptoms of the virus.
Stating that all the 25,937 persons who were quarantined in various facilities with symptoms had been discharged after they completed the prescribed quarantine period, he said a total of 243 places including 123 under GHMC limits and the remaining 120 in other areas across the State had been identified as containment zones.
Earlier, Chandrashekhar Rao, participating in the Chief Ministers’ video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggested several measures, stating that implementation of such initiatives would help the States tide over the difficult economic situation besides helping the agrarian sector.
“The lockdown, the best weapon we have against the virus, has to be extended by at least two weeks, but there is also a need to initiate several measures simultaneously, including allowing food processing industry to function, which will not only be helpful to farmers, but will also ensure smooth supply of essential commodities to people during the lockdown period,” Chandrashekhar Rao said, participating in the four-hour video conference of Chief Ministers with the Prime Minister.
The Chief Minister, who made several suggestions to be implemented as part of the united fight against Covid-19, especially with regard to agriculture, economy and people of the country, urged the Union government to take the initiative to postpone payments to be made by States towards various loans by at least six months.