Telangana extends Covid-19 lockdown till May 30

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to extend the Covid-19 lockdown in the state till May 30.

The state cabinet in its meeting on May 11 had reviewed the pandemic situation in the state and had decided to impose a 20-hour lockdown daily from May 12 till May 20.

Shops were allowed to be open only for four hours between 6 am and 10 am. The cabinet was supposed to meet again on May 20 to review the situation.

However, on Tuesday evening, CMO officials informed that Rao spoke with the ministers over the phone and elicited their opinion on extending the lockdown.

“(Later,) the CM instructed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to issue a 'go ahead' on the lockdown extension. As the ministers are busy monitoring the Covid-19 curtailment measures and medical services on the field, the CM has canceled the Thursday cabinet meet,” officials said.

Meanwhile, Telangana health officials have claimed that the Covid-19 cases are on a declining trend in the state since the last two weeks.

On Tuesday, the health department reported 3,982 new positive cases out of the 71,616 samples tested. Though officials are claiming that the Covid-19 positivity rate has dropped drastically, public health experts say that the low testing in the state remains a concern.

Meanwhile, with Chief Minister Rao finally deciding to join the central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, Telangana medical and health department has signed a MoU with the National Health Authority.