Coronavirus: Telangana CM to hold high-level emergency meeting as cases rise to 13

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday decided to hold a high-level meeting to discuss measures to be taken to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the state. The total number of positive cases in Telangana rose to 13 after seven fresh cases were confirmed for coronavirus on Thursday.

The state government has now stepped up measures to arrest the spread of the virus. As per Telangana CMO, all district collectors, police commissioners, and SPs are invited to the meeting at Pragati Bhavan. 

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Medical and Health Minister Etela Rajender, Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao, Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao, Ministers from Hyderabad, Mohammed Ali, Srinivas Yadav, Sabita Indrareddy, Malla Reddy, Deputy Speaker Padma Rao, Principal Secretaries of Medical and Health, Panchayat Raj, Municipal Administration, Commissioners have also been invited.

"Against this backdrop, in the Thursday meeting, preventive measures to be taken and regulations to be allowed would be discussed," Telangana CMO stated. The CMO has also announced that all those coming from abroad should undergo tests since a positive case was found from an Indonesian national on Tuesday, March 17. 

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15-day action plan

"People also should be on alert and inform the authorities about those coming from abroad. People should also take measures for their personal health. The Chief Minister has instructed the officials concerned to allow people coming from abroad to go home only after they went through the complete check-up. The state government had already implemented weekday and 15-day action plan to prevent the spread of the virus," it added. 

Sources also revealed that during the high-level meeting, some more preventive measures will be declared by the Telangana government. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has urged people to stay away from festivals and celebrations which would involve mass gathering and practice social distancing.  

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Coronavirus in India 

As per the latest figures by the Union Health Ministry, the number of Coronavirus cases in India has risen to over 150. Along with it, three deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi, West Delhi, and Mumbai respectively. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15.

(With Agency Inputs)