Wear Masks Or Pay Rs 1,000: KCR

After reviewing the steps being taken to tackle the spread of Covid-19 in Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrasehkar Rao today directed state DGP M Mahender Reddy to enforce the mask-wearing rule strictly by imposing a Rs 1,000 fine on people not wearing masks in public places.

Other concerned officials were also asked to oversee the implementation of the rule in the state under the Disaster Management Act (2005). Further, the officials were instructed to increase testing following the continuing surge in the number of reported cases.

"Please ensure that each and every front-line worker in Telangana is vaccinated by the end of the week. Please also conduct RTPCR tests on a massive scale across all the districts. Test centres should be set up in Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Khammam, Nirmal, Mancherial, Kamareddy, Sangareddy, Medak, Jagtial, Peddapalli, Ramagundam, Bhongir, Jangaon and Vikarabad at the earliest for this," the CM added.

He also urged the public to follow all the Covid-19 safety guidelines to protect themselves and others from the highly communicable disease, and asked the residents of densely populated districts, including Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri, to remain extra alert.

The review meeting was attended by several senior officials including Health Minister Etala Rajender, Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod, and Chief Advisor to the government Rajeev Sharma.

Meanwhile, the state recorded a whopping 3,187 new positive cases yesterday - its highest single-day tally since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. It now has 20,184 active cases as a result.

Further, seven people reportedly succumbed to the disease yesterday, pushing up the state's cumulative Covid-19 fatalities to 1,759.