No lockdown now: Eatala Rajender

The State government is not currently considering a lockdown in Telangana to tackle the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Health Minister Eatala Rajender said here on Thursday.

“As of now, we are not thinking about imposing a lockdown in the State. On the contrary, the Centre should seriously consider declaring a health emergency across the country, which can perhaps improve healthcare facilities available to Covid positive persons, especially in BJP-ruled states,” Rajender told the media.

Rajender blamed the Centre for bungling on several issues while handling the second wave, which went on to impact the public in a big way.

“The Centre failed to regulate and ensure availability of



enough stocks of Remdesivir to States. It also failed to make sure ample oxygen was available in all States, which could have saved lives. It has also failed to meet the demand for vaccines and now is asking individual States to import them,” Rajender said.

The Health Minister also pointed out that the centre could not anticipate the gravity or intensity of the second wave.

“They alerted us about the second wave but never mentioned about the intensity. It is very clear that the Central Government had no idea on the severity of the second wave. That’s the reason why it went ahead and planned super-spreading events like elections and the Kumbh Mela etc,” Rajender said.