Telangana ends lockdown: Curbs to be lifted from today; schools, colleges to reopen from 1 July

The Telangana government has decided to lift the COVID-19 lockdown completely from Sunday in view of a decline in coronavirus cases and also reopen educational institutions from 1 July.The decision was been taken by the state cabinet in a meeting chaired by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday afternoon.Till Saturday, the lockdown was being implemented from 6 pm to 6 am in the state except in some parts.The decision was taken after examining reports submitted by medical and health department officials that COVID-19 cases have come down in the state and the virus is now under control, an official release said.On 8 June, the Cabinet had decided to extend the lockdown for ten more days (up to Saturday). The state government had first imposed the shutdown from 12 May during the second wave of the COVID-19 spread and extended it subsequently.Educational institutions to reopen from 1 JulyThe education department has been directed to reopen all categories of educational institutions from 1 July with students allowed to attend classes physically.In view of the decision to reopen educational institutions, the Cabinet has asked the education department to prepare guidelines on different issues, including students' attendance and online classes and release them at the earliest, it said.Observing that the decision (to end lockdown) was taken with the view that the livelihood of common people should not suffer, the Cabinet sought support and cooperation from people, reminding them that COVID-19 precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing should be followed.People should continue wearing masks, maintain physical distance and ensure personal hygiene to curtail the spread of the virus, the CMO added.The state on Friday reported 1,417 fresh cases and 12 fatalities. Though the state has never been in the frontline of the wave of the pandemic — be it the first or the second — it witnessed a serious situation from time to time.The COVID-19 caseload is 6,10,834, while the state's total toll is 3,546 — till Friday.With inputs from PTI