Hyderabad: State health minister Etela Rajender on Friday once again refuted reports of an impending imposition of a lockdown, with regard to the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Telangana. Rajender made it clear that there is no scope to impose a lockdown, which is something that other states like Maharashtra have resorted to.
Speaking to media persons at Huzurabad, Rajender asked people to take precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and also asked the to step out of their homes only if it was needed. Commenting on the news reports that private hospital are over charging patients, he said that it was not right on the part of the hospitals to fleece patients.
He said that managements of the private hospitals should be humane towards patients and warned them to not work for their self-interest. Rajender made it clear that the welfare of farmers was the main objective of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi government, and asked farmers to take all precautions at procurement centers. He made it clear that the second wave of the COVID-19 virus is spreading fast and added that all people of the state should wear face masks.
On Friday, Telangana reported over 3,800 new takes, and the state’s total number of cases is well above the three lakh mark already. Over the last few weeks, there have been many rumours of the state government imposing a lockdown. However, so far, the government has made it clear on more than one occasion that it will not resort that. On the same day, all non-COVID services at Gandhi Hospital were stopped, as the state-run healthcare centre will only treat COVID-19 patients for now.