One COVID-19 death reported in Telangana, 52 new cases take tally in state to 644

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Hyderabad, Apr 14 ()A coronavirus patient died and52 people tested positive in Telangana taking the number ofcases in the state to 644, according to an official bulletinissued on Tuesday.

The virus has so far claimed 18 ives in the state.

Of the total 644 cases in the state, 110 have beencured, while 516 are undergoing treatment.

According to a bulletin on COVID-19, the GreaterHyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has the highest numberof active cases in the state at 249 followed by Nizamabad with36.

Hyderabad district is on high focus as majority ofcases are being reported in GHMC, it said, adding that robustcontainment is being initiated in the virus-affected area.

The administration has set up as many as 221containment clusters across the state to check the coronavirusspread, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, a group of migrant labourers fromneighbouring Andhra Pradesh, who wanted to go to their nativeSrikakulam district, were found on a road in Hyderabad today.

Police and other officials, who stopped them, sentthem back to their homes in Hyderabad in a vehicle.

State Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav, whohails from Hyderabad, said the group of men and women would beprovided 12 kgs of rice per person (as promised by the stategovernment) and also financial support.

Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T RamaRao and Health Minister E Rajender appealed to citizens tostrictly follow the lockdown rules and asked officials to acttough on those who bypass norms in 'containment zones'.

Rama Rao and Rajender held a meeting with officialsand discussed the plan of action and the precautionarymeasures to be taken to control the spread of COVID-19 inHyderabad in view of a large number of cases beingreported from the city.

The Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and MolecularBiology (CCMB) has been chosen as one of the five validationcentres for coronavirus testing kits in the country by theIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

CCMB is the only non-ICMR lab to be a part of theseCentres of Excellence that will validate the non-US FDA (Foodand Drug Administration) and non-EUA (Emergency UseAuthorisation) approved kits for COVID-19 testing, a pressrelease said.

Also, a COVID-19 Sample Collection Kiosk which getsautomatically disinfected without the need for humaninvolvement has been developed by the Defence Research &Development Laboratory (DRDL) in the city.

The kiosk is for use by health care workers to takesamples from suspected infected patients, an official releasesaid. GDK SJR