Telangana's daily Covid tally nears 6,000; Govt imposes night curfew till April 30

Hyderabad: Telangana confirmed 5,926 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest ever in a single day, pushing the total infection count to over 3.61 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,856 with 18 more fatalities, the state government said on Tuesday.

As a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus, the state government imposed night curfew from (9 PM to 5 AM next day) till April 30.

"The various measures to control COVID-19 in the state have been reviewed. It is decided to introduce night curfew in the state for the period from 9 PM to 5 AM till April 30 as a further measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19," Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said in an order.

During the curfew period all offices, firms, shops, establishments, restaurants etc shall close at 8 PM except hospitals, diagnostic labs, pharmacies and those dealing with supply of essential services such as media, e-commerce deliveries and Petrol pumps among others.

Movement of all people shall be prohibited from 9 PM onwards barring government officials, medical personnel and those coming from or going to airports, railway stations, and bus stands on production of valid tickets, among others.

The order said there shall be no restriction on inter- state and intra-state movement or transportation of essential and non-essential goods and no separate permission or pass will be required for such movement.

Public transport services including autos and taxis shall be allowed to function within stipulated time for the transportation of exempted categories of people during the period of night curfew, it added.

Telangana Exhibitors Association also took a voluntary decision to close down all movie theatres except those screening Pawan Kalyan-starrer "Vakeel Saab" across the state from April 21.

Vijender Reddy, secretary of Telangana Exhibitors Association, said the decision in this regard was taken at a meeting on Tuesday with Telangana Film Chambers of Commerce.

The state government also issued an order imposing restriction on screening of movies in view of the night curfew.

A government bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on April 19, said Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 793, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (488) and Rangareddy (455).

The total number of cumulative cases stood at 3,61,359 while with 2,029 patients being cured, the total recoveries were at 3,16,650.