Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has asked people to voluntarily follow the 'Janata curfew' called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.
Rao directed state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to hold a video conference with district Collectors and officials of the police, health and other departments on the arrangements and action plan to make 'Janata curfew' a success, an official release said late on Friday night.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who held a press conference on Friday, also appealed to the people to observe 'Janata curfew' on March 22 from 7 am to 9 pm.
The Governor said she, along with her family members and staff, will be standing at the portico of Raj Bhavan and clap for five minutesto "pay profound respects to the invaluable services rendered by the medical staff, paramedical staff, government servants, public transport personnel" on Sunday at 5 pm.
She appealed to the people to do the same as a gesture of gratitude.
The number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Telangana stood at 19 as on Friday night.
More From This Section
The 19 cases include a group of 10 Indonesians who stayed at Karimnagar in Telangana for two days last week.
It also includes the first positive case of a software professional who has been discharged from hospital after recovery.
State Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy told reporters on Saturday that 'Panchanga Sravanam' (reading/listening to the almanac) on the occasion of Telugu New Year 'Ugadi' (on March 25) would be live telecast this year instead of organising a public gathering as part of precautions being taken to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Sri Rama Navami celebration at the famous temple town of Bhadrachalam, which is attended by thousands of people every year, would be held at the temple with only the priests, pandits and officials attending, he said.
The Sri Rama Navami celebrations at other temples in the state would also be a low-key affair, he added.
Meanwhile, the Collector of Asifabad district has written a letter to the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) that an MLA (in the district), who returned from the US along with his wife recently, needs to be in quarantine in view of precautions being taken to prevent the spread of the virus, official sources said.
The MLA, who was found to have participated in public gatherings for a day, has been told that he should be in quarantine (at home) and his staff conveyed that he stayed at home and did not go out, the sources added.
The MLA does not not have any symptoms related to COVID-19, they said.
The government, in an appeal to public in a media bulletin, said any person who has returned from any foreign country or has been in transit shall be in self-home quarantine for 14 days from the time of arrival in India, irrespective of having any symptoms or not.
As part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the state government has already announced various measures, including closure of educational institutions till March 31.
Chief Minister Rao, who held a meeting with ministers, senior officials and district Collectors on Thursday, had said district Collectors and police officials have been given directives to identify people who arrived in the state from abroad after March 1 so that those having symptoms of COVID-19 could be referred to medical authorities.
Rao had also said cinema halls, bars, pubs, clubs and others, which have been closed for a week earlier, would remain closed till March 31.
The restrictions imposed earlier on certain establishments for a week have been extended till March 31, hehad said.
The closure of educational institutions and other establishments, besides other restrictions, resulted in a decline in the heavy traffic usually witnessed on the city roads.