Sixteen cases of COVID-19 were reported in Telangana on Friday, taking the total number of active cases in the state cumulatively to 430.
No death occurred due to the virus and the number of those who died of it remained at 12, a government health bulletin said
The number of people cured or discharged from hospitals (cumulatively) was 45.
Till date, there was no evidence of community transmission of the virus in Telangana, the bulletin said.
It said 101 hot spots have been identified in the state.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who held a meeting with Health Minister E Rajender and officials, appealed to the people to continue to participate in the lockdown with the same spirit they have shown till now.
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"The virus is not spreading more like in other countries as the lockdown is being implemented in the country and in the state.
People should understand this fact and continue to cooperate, a release from his office quoted him as saying.
The Chief Minister said the state government is continuously involved in providing treatment to those infected by the virus and quarantining their contacts.
Rao directed officials to ensure there is no shortage of essential commodities though lockdown is in force, the release said.
The Chief Minister also discussed issues to be mentioned in Saturdays video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the agenda for the cabinet meeting scheduled that day.
Meanwhile, the state government has marked 212 areas across the state covering over 4. 50 lakh households as containment clusters or Red Zones, an exercise to prevent coronavirus spread, a senior official of the state Health Department said on Friday.
The cluster containment strategy would be to contain the disease within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas, the official said.
The state government has made wearing a mask covering nose and mouth compulsory when going out and while interacting with others, a Government Memo said, while stating that some people do not show COVID-19 symptoms despite testing positive.
"The earlier advisory on Masks only for the sick is being updated with Mask on while stepping outdoors, in enclosed spaces and while interacting with others," it said.
The update was based on the latest learnings from the medical and scientific community, it said, adding that studies in Japan have shown that Mask on has slowed the spread of coronavirus considerably.
"This revision of advice is based on the learnings that a large number of infected people do not show any symptoms- asymptomatic, but still carriers of the infection and can infect others, the note issued on Thursday by the Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department had said.
The Mask on will prevent the droplets from escaping and potentially infecting others, it said.
Health Minister E Rajender, who participated in a video conference with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan,urged that ventilators and other equipment be manufactured in organisations like state-owned ECIL and DRDO and handed over to state governments
He requested that N-95 masks, PPE kits and testing kits be provided as early as possible
He also said COVID-19 tests had been conducted for 8,500 people in the state and that 471 among them have tested positive (as on Thursday night),the release said.
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