With the second case of coronavirus confirmed in Hyderabad, the state government as a precautionary measure has put Telangana on high alert to contain and tackle the global outbreak of Corona virus global outbreak. Schools, colleges and all educational institutions will be closed till March 31. Further, the government has asked the theatre owners to shut down cinema halls till March 31, a decision to this effect was taken at a high-level committee comprising all state departments noting that some states in the country have already initiated measures such as temporarily shutting down cinema halls, malls and educational institutions to contain the spread of the viral disease. However, the government said the SSC (Class 10) examinations will continue as per schedule.
Earlier, addressing the Assembly, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekara Rao although currently there is no panic situation in the state he said the coronavirus should not be underestimated.
India has registered its second death related to Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) after a 68-year-old woman died in Delhi, while around 81 positive cases have been reported till date. In Hyderabad, there has been only one case of coronavirus in Hyderabad after a 24-year-old techie tested positive for the deadly disease. The patient underwent treatment at the Gandhi Hospital and was discharged after complete recovering. A 76-year-old man from Karnataka died in Hyderabad, the first case of coronavirus death reported in the country. The chief minister informed the Assembly around 34 people, who came in contact with the 76-year-old Karnataka man who died of coronavirus, have been identified in the state. Further, three passengers who had returned from Italy were rushed to the Gandhi Hospital after they showed symptoms. The samples with suspected symptoms of the virus have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
The central government has taken several measures to contain the spread of the virus. The state governments of Delhi, Karnataka, Odisha and Maharashtra have announced partial shutdowns in view of the global epidemic coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, he informed the Assembly and the Telangana government cannot be a mute spectator.
“This is a serious public health threat. The virus has sparked fear and anxiety around the world. We cannot be a mute spectator to the spread of Corona virus. Though there is no panic situation in Telangana, the government is alert and will take all precautionary measures to counter the threat of the virus. The actions we take today will save lives,” the chief minister told the Assembly on Saturday.
“Our neighboring metro Bangalore has closed schools. Governments have asked people to keep marriages and birthday functions low-key. Similar measures were initiated by the governments of Maharashtra, Odisha and other states,” he said. The chief minister said when the Spanish flu in the early 19th century, it wiped out around 10 to 20 crore people globally. In India alone, as per records, around 1.40 crore people were killed due to the Spanish flu. Therefore, it would be criminal to underestimate or ignore the outbreaks of such viruses, he told the Assembly.
The chief minister further informed the Assembly that the government was taking all necessary precautions to monitor and screen all passengers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport which is witnessing an exponential growth of 150 per cent in air traffic. On an average, the airport handles 57,000 passengers and over 500 flights operate from the airport. The central government has banned and cancelled all visas to travelers from the seven most affected nations including China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, Germany and Spain. “Fortunately, we do not have direct flights to these seven countries, but the fear of contagion is always there as the travelers visit Hyderabad through connecting or transit flights,” he said. Similarly, the government will initiate various protective measures to prevent the spread of the virus at Metro stations and public transport systems like the RTC. He said around 4 lakh people travel in Metro Rail everyday and two crore passengers commute in RTC.
