HYDERABAD: Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy said that the Centre would make a fresh assessment of the incidence of Covid-19 after Sankranti and would take a call on whether or not lockdown should be imposed at the national-level.
Speaking to the media on Monday, he disclosed that after Sankranti, the Prime Minister will hold talks with all the chief ministers to assess the situation. At present, the Centre has no intention of imposing lockdown but it was watching the unfolding scenario very closely. “In about 11 states, Sankranti is celebrated under various names. If the number of cases goes up phenomenally, the Centre will take an appropriate decision,” he added.
The Minister said that at present the states have been given the freedom to take whatever steps they deem fit to arrest the spread of the infection. Already some states have imposed night curfews and similarly Telangana too could take appropriate steps to rein in the pandemic. Even in Delhi, weekend curfew is in force and flights have been suspended.
The minister, who visited the Gandhi Hospital to watch administration of booster doses to frontline workers and the elderly, appealed to the people not to be carried away by rumours about Covid-19.