HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday appealed to people to celebrate Sankranti at their home and not in the open in groups in the wake of a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases. Rao asked the people not to panic but take enough precautions to keep the infection at bay. The Chief Minister, chairing a review meeting with officials of the Medical and Health Department on the incidence of Covid-19 in the State, said the simple steps like wearing masks, maintaining social distance and frequently disinfecting hands using sanitisers would greatly help.
The Chief Minister underscored the need for everyone to get vaccinated, and said that parents should take an active role in getting their children vaccinated. From Monday, booster dose would be administered to those above 60 years of age, frontline workers and frontline healthcare workers. Rao said the State was fully geared to meet any eventuality arising out of the third wave of Covid-19. The officials told the Chief Minister that infrastructure, including oxygen beds, was ready to handle any number of Covid-19 cases, and briefed him on the availability of necessary medicines.