The Telangana government announced that the statewide lockdown will be extended till May 30. The lockdown, which was imposed on May 12 was supposed to end on May 22 (Saturday). However, following a cabinet meeting on May 18, the state government decided to extend the lockdown for one more week.
The decision comes after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao spoke with the ministers over the phone and sought their opinion on the lockdown extension. Accordingly, the CM instructed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to issue a government order on the extension of the lockdown. The CM has also cancelled the State Cabinet meeting, which was scheduled to be held on May 20, Thursday.
The existing lockdown guidelines and restrictions will continue to remain in force. All grocery, milk and meat shops and other activities will be allowed only from 6 am to 10 am. Citizens travelling within the state and from other states must procure an e-pass from the police station at the place of origin. E-pass to travel within Telangana can be procured from here.
However, an e-pass is not required for essential services such as medical or groceries. To travel for medical purposes and if the person is a patient's attendant, he/she should carry hospital’s attendant pass or a prescription. Persons transporting essential items should paste an A4 sheet paper on the vehicle’s windscreen, with items being transported listed on it.
Citizens scheduled to get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to travel to the vaccination centre during the lockdown. However, apart from the Aadhaar card, they have to show proof of either the first dose. This can be a partial vaccination certificate (which can be downloaded from cowin.gov.in) or the confirmation message received on phone for the first dose.
As far as travelling within the state and from outside the state, the police have said that if a person wants to travel from one district of the state to another, they have to procure an e-pass from the police station at the place of origin.
Telangana government-run Annapurna canteens in Hyderabad started providing free meals to the needy in view of the lockdown.