The Telangana Cabinet today decided to lift the lockdown that was being enforced in the state in the wake of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic since May 12. The lockdown restrictions will no longer be in effect from June 20 (tomorrow).
At a meeting held today, the Cabinet took the decision after examining the reports submitted by the medical and health department officials, which stated that the number of reported Covid-19 cases had seen a drastic fall over the past few weeks, and that the pandemic situation was now under control.
Further, the Telangana administration noted that it was relatively safe to lift the restrictions at this point since the situation in the neighbouring states was also improving. With this, officials from all the government departments were instructed to lift the restrictions that had been imposed during the lockdown period.
However, the Cabinet explicitly urged the people of the state to continue to observe all the pandemic prevention and safety norms even after the relaxation of the restrictions. It warned that the lifting of the lockdown did not mean that negligent behaviour would be tolerated, and asked the people to continue to wear masks, sanitise their hands regularly, and practice social distancing.
Since the lockdown is now being lifted, the state government has also decided to reopen Telangana's educational institutions. The education department was, therefore, told to reopen all categories of educational institutions in the state from July 1 while ensuring complete adherence to the relevant Covid-19 guidelines.