Telangana wary of new virus variant

Hyderabad: Why Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan imposed night curfew? Is it because of the new strain of Covid 19? This, sources say, is to ensure that there are no huge gatherings and midnight mass prayers on the occasion of Christmas and to see that no midnight bash takes place for the New Year festivities.

The Telangana Government too had decided to cancel all official celebrations. The state government, which is closely monitoring the situation, has put the state administration once again on alert to avoid the possibility of peaks in Covid positive cases. Police have been instructed to monitor the movement of people coming from the two neighbouring states Karnataka and Maharashtra at border districts of Mahbubnagar, Medak, Adilabad and Nizamabad.

Officials said police forces were deployed at the border check posts. The borders will remain open but the movement of people from the two sides are under close watch. The border district officials were in constant touch with their counterparts in the neighbouring states and exchanging information regarding the spread of virus in their jurisdictions, said an official.

The state Municipal Administration and Panchayat Raj departments in coordination with the Health are conducting study to find out the places where positive cases were registered in the recent days. On Wednesday, a total number of 635 positive cases were reported in the state. Incidentally, at least seven members of actor Rajinikanth's film shooting crew on Wednesday tested positive for Covid-19 and the shoot has been suspended. The actor-politician was shooting for the action flick in Hyderabad with actress Nayantara.

The local bodies are monitoring the health status of the people who returned from the UK where the spread of the new strain of coronavirus is rampant.

The health profile of people who were infected earlier was being monitored closely.