Hyderabad, June 19 (IANS) The Telangana government has decided to totally lift the lockdown in the state. At its meeting held on Saturday, the state cabinet discussed the matter and decided on total removal of the lockdown which was imposed to control the spread of Covid in the state.

With the latest instalment of lockdown set to end on Saturday, the state cabinet had been convened for an emergency meeting to decide the future course of action. The cabinet discussed the report prepared by the health department, which noted that with corona cases and positivity rate declining significantly, the pandemic is in control in the state.

While the cabinet has instructed all departments to withdraw all the restrictions that have been imposed during the lockdown, there is no clarity yet on allowing inter-state bus services.

Over the past few days, corona cases have been steadily declining in the state. Apart from this, the vaccination program has gained pace in the rural areas, leading to increased protection for larger cross-sections of the population.

On June 8, the Telangana government had decided to extend the lockdown for another 10 days but had increased daily relaxation time by four hours, from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The lockdown, which was to end on June 9, had been extended for 10 days from June 10.

Initially, the state government had announced a 10-day lockdown from May 12 to rein in the surge in coronavirus cases. This was later extended twice.