Hyderabad: With the new surge of COVID-19 cases across Telangana and fear among people on the rise, the main wholesale market in Hyderabad has decided to cut its business hours.
Hyderabad Merchants Association said that all the shops in Begum Bazar area would be open from 9am to 5pm only. The Association president Lakshminarayan Rathi said that the decision was taken in view of the fact that several traders were affected by COVIDF-19.
The decision came following a sudden rise in infectio s forcing the government to take several new measures including restriction on social and religious gatherings.
The number of daily cases reached a new high of more than 2,000 on Friday. A month ago it was 110 a day.
Rise in cases
As part of measures to control the situation, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed the police to ensure that nobody moves around in public without a mask. A fine of Rs 1,000 was being imposed on the violators.
The state has witnessed a 15 per cent rise in coronavirus cases in less than a week and the total number of cases has reached 318,704.
Officials said that the situation was as bad as the peak last year and it was likely to worsen. The state recorded 7 deaths on Thursday.
State High Court has also taken serious note of the situation and asked the government to close cafes theaters immediately. The court also asked not to allow anybody from other states without a PCR test.
As the government has decided not to impose any lockdown immediately, the court said that it should create cantonment zones even without lockdown. The court also ordered the authorities to ensure that there were no huge gatherings in marriage halls and for any other purpose.
