Telangana govt does a U-turn, allows liquor shops to re-open despite lockdown extension

Even as the Telangana government decided to extend the lockdown due to Coronavirus till May 29, in a late-night order it announced that the liquor shops will be open in the state except those in the Red zones. Telangana currently has 6 Red zone districts.

The order by the Revenue Department states that all A4 liquor shops will operate except those in the containment area and those in malls. Specifying the timing it said that the shops will be open from 10 AM to 6 PM, and added that social distancing norms should be strictly followed. It also stated that masks and sanitizers will be mandatory and a "No mask, No liquor" board will be put outside every shop.  

Here is the full list of guidelines:

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates

Telangana extends lockdown

In a massive development on Tuesday, Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao announced that the lockdown would be extended in the state till May 29. Thus, Telangana has become the first state in India to extend the lockdown beyond May 17. The curfew from 7 pm to 7 am shall continue across the state. Addressing the media, Rao stated that 1096 COVID-19 cases had been reported in the state so far, out of which 628 individuals had been discharged. Moreover, he noted that 11 more persons had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday. 

READ | Telangana government announces extension of lockdown in state till May 29

Telangana CM hails recovery rate

In his press briefing, Rao observed that Telangana's COVID-19 recovery rate is 57.3%, which is higher than the country's recovery rate. Maintaining that the state was close to flattening the curve, he claimed that the vaccine for the novel coronavirus might come out by August. He also appreciated the fact that containment zones in the state had reduced from 35 to 11. The Telangana CM hailed Karimnagar as a role model for containing the spread of COVID-19. 

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On this occasion, he mentioned that there are 6 Red zone districts, 9 Green zone districts and 18 Orange zone districts in Telangana. He added that electrical, hardware, electrical, spare parts shops, essential commodities and construction activity shops would be open in all zones. However, only shops selling essential commodities shall be permitted to operate in the Red zone districts of Hyderabad, Medchal, Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy, Warangal Urban, Vikarabad and Suryapet. Furthermore, the Telangana CM revealed that a decision on opening liquor shops in the state would be taken after May 15. Currently, there are 46711 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 13161 persons have recovered while 1583 deaths have been reported. 

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