Telangana state to quarantine all foreign returned

Hyderabad: Intensifying its precautionary measures following the fresh advisory by the Centre and detection of one more Covid-19 positive case in the State taking the total figure of positive cases to 16, the State Government sounded fresh alert in all the districts to ensure that the State continues to be a safe state.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who held a review meeting on Thursday, said that the government had decided to impose prohibition on religious congregations in all temples, masjids, churches and gurudwaras and quarantine all the people with foreign travel history who had come to state after March 1.

He said apart from the cancellation of Sita Rama Kalyanam at Bhadradri and Ugadi celebrations, the Government will telecast the Panchanga Shravanam on Ugadi, and the famous celestial wedding of Lord Rama from Bhadrachalam.

The government held consultations with Muslim religious heads and urged them to see that Shab-e-Meraj was not held in masjids. The religious heads agreed to the government's request and said that this can be done at home on March 22.

Further, the government also stopped allowing visitors to the State Secretariat. The ban on opening of cinema halls, pubs, function halls, gyms, indoor and outdoor stadiums and swimming pools will continue for another week till March 31.

Since the issue of people with foreign travel history is worrying factor which has been the sole contributor to the spread of the virus, the CM said that the district authorities have been asked to conduct house-to-house survey to find people who had returned to their native places from other countries.

All of them will be quarantined either in their residences or in the special facility created in the hospitals after conducting medical tests.

All the local body representatives and staff of all departments, including Police will take part in the special drive launched by the government.

The Chief Minister said that he will appeal to Prime minister Narendra Modi to cancel all the foreign flights to India in video conference with all CMs by PM organised on Friday.

The ongoing 10th class exams will continue, and special sanitisation measures will be taken in all examination halls, the CM said that 18 check posts will be opened at Telangana borders with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh to track the moments of the people with foreign returned.

A special request was also made to Railways to furnish the data of people coming from different parts to the State, he said.