COVID-19: Night curfew imposed in Telangana till May 1

The Telangana Government on Tuesday announced a night curfew in the state from 9 pm to 5 am till May 1 due to an increase in COVID-19 cases being reported in the state. The curfew will be in place till May 1 and will exempt essential services.

All the offices, firms, shops, establishments, restaurants etc shall close at 8.00 PM except hospitals, diagnostic labs, pharmacies and those dealing with supply of essential services, the order stated, adding that there will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement/transportation of essential and non-essential goods. "No separate permission/pass will be required for such movement," it said.

It further stated that any violation instructions shall result in prosecution under Sections 51 to 60 of Disaster Management Act 2005 and Section 188 of IPC as well as other applicable laws. Coronavirus cases in the state have been rapidly increasing over the last few days. As many as 5926 fresh cases and 18 related deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.

According to a report provided by the State Health Department on Tuesday, the total count of COVID-19 cases reported in the state stands at 3,61,359, including 1856 deaths and 42,853 active cases.