Hyderabad: With Telangana state once again witnessing rapid spread of coronavirus and registering an increase in Omicron cases, the state government has imposed several restrictions on public gatherings and meetings.
But, at the same time, the famous annual Hyderabad Exhibition has also been inaugurated by the state governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajn attracting sharp criticism from various quarters.
Setting the alarm bells ringing in official circles and among the people, more than 300 people have tested positive for COVID-19 on a single day taking the positivity rate to more than 1 per cent for the first time in four months.
At the same time the total cases of Omicron in the state has reached 79 as 12 more people tested positive. All of them were international passengers, 9 of whom came from the vulnerable countries and three from non-vulnerable countries.
Ever since a fresh alert was sounded following the outbreak of the new variant, and testing was intensified at Hyderabad international airport, 79 people have tested positive for Omicron and 57 of them were treated and have recovered, the official statement said.
In view of the sharp increase in the numbers, state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar held a high level review meeting and issued a new set of orders imposing restrictions.
According to an official statement, all religious, political and cultural events and rallies were banned in the state and wearing masks in public places was made compulsory. Anybody found without mask be fined Rs1,000 (Dh50), the statement said. Public transport, shops, malls, establishments and offices have been asked to implement the protocols strictly and regular sanitize the premises.
Meanwhile, inaugurating the annual Numaish or Exhibition, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people over a period of 40 days, state governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that COVID-19 and Omicron was spreading, the people should exercise all the precautions. “I urge all the entrepreneurs participating in the exhibition to maintain safety precautions.”
But this has prompted citizens to criticise the decision of opening the event as the spread of virus was on the rise. What was the urgency for the government to allow exhibition when the number of cases were increasing, many social media users asked.
