HYDERABAD: Telangana will be taking up rigorous cluster testing in the identified COVID-19 hotspots, said IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao during the #AskKTR session that he conducted on Twitter on Friday night. The Minister, speaking to the media earlier, also said that State government has identified and quarantined more than 5,000 people in Telangana who came in contact with the around 1,200 returnees to Telangana from Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi.
As the Minister started the #AskKTR session, one of the first questions he was asked was if the lockdown would be extended. He replied that he was in support of the extension but the government had to take a collective decision. Rao said, “I am personally for extension for a couple of weeks. But it’s a collective decision of the Govt in consultation with other stakeholders”(sic).
The Minister also said that the Telangana government is in talks with the Central government on how to help the MSMEs impacted due to the lockdown and if some industries could be exempted with conditions. When asked if there are lessons from the ongoing pandemic he replied, “Personal hygiene & sanitation is key, Adequate medical infrastructure and its importance has been underscored, taking good care of our frontline warriors & dignity of labour”.
He also stressed on better readiness with respect to medical infrastructure to face any such situation in the future. On the issue of heavy power bills for March, KTR said he would discuss it with the Energy Minister. Regarding Class X examinations, he said that the government would take a call at an appropriate time. He advised students to focus on digital learning and get used to a new way of life for a while. When a citizen asked if he supported a yearly lockdown for the sake of the environment, KTR replied that he would if it was for 10 days a year and if the whole world agreed.