After witnessing a decline inCOVID-19 cases for several days, Telangana saw a sudden rise in positive cases on Thursday with 22 fresh cases being reported, alongside three deaths,as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called for intensifying steps to check the spread of infection.Meanwhile, acting on the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the movement of people stranded due to the lockdown, the state government has designated a senior official as the nodal officer and a senior police official as police nodal officer for the same purpose.An official release said on Thursday night that the three people died due to COVID-19 and other health problems.With this, the death toll has gone up to 28.The number of positive cases reported in the state (till date) surged to 1038 after the detection of 22 fresh cases.Concerned over the surge in positive cases, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed that a high-level meeting be organised and steps are taken to prevent further spread of the infection in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area.Accordingly, state Health Minister E Rajender held a meeting with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials and it was decided to take sound measures in the containment zones, the release said.The link of the fresh spread is found to be two persons, who infected owners of three shops at a market in Hyderabad, and in turn the family members of the three shop owners, it said.All these families are kept in isolation at a hospital and two concerned localities have been declared as containment zones.The release said 33 people were discharged from hospitals on Thursday.The number of discharged people till date was 442.Rajender expressed happiness over the Centre reportedly expressing satisfaction over the treatment and facilities extended by the state government.There is no scope for political criticism after the Central team sent a report that the state government is following the Centres guidelines in letter and spirit, he said.The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), deputed to Hyderabad to make an assessment of the COVID-19 situation, visited two state-run hospitals and a shelter home, besides others, on Thursday, a release said.The team, which began its visit to the city on Saturday last, has been visiting various places and enquiring about services and steps taken for the welfare of migrant workers and others.A protocol has been developed for the movement of stranded persons, an official release said on Wednesday night.A letter has been addressed to Chief Secretaries of all states to provide details of persons from their states who are stranded in Telangana, it said.The Chief Secretaries of other states have also been requested to make transport arrangements to pick up the people from their states who are stranded in Telangana.State Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav on Thursday demanded that the Centre arrange special trains and provide free transportation for migrant workers to their native states.Observing that there are about 15 lakh migrant workers in Telangana, who belong to states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, he said it takes about three tofive days for them to reach their native states if they travel by buses.It is not appropriate for the Centre to say that the state governments concerned have to transport the migrant workers in buses, an official release quoted him as saying.
