After lifting lockdown, Wuhan residents asked to stay home amid fears of rebound of coronavirus
Beijing: The authorities in China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus, on Friday asked its residents to stay at home and avoid non-essential outings amid fears of a possible rebound of the disease due to the steady rise in the asymptomatic cases, days after the nine-week lockdown was relaxed in the city.
Asymptomatic coronavirus cases are those who test positive for the virus but do not show any symptom and have the potential to cause sporadic clusters of infections.
China on March 25 downgraded the risk level of the coronavirus in its epicentre Wuhan from high to medium and resumed bus services within the city for the first time since the three-month lockdown.
Currently, there are 1,075 asymptomatic patients under medical observation in the Chinese mainland.
Though no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases were reported in Hubei and its capital Wuhan on Thursday, local health officials said 51 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were detected, bringing the total to 742, all of whom have been put under medical observation.
According to official media reports, China also plans to test the over 11 million population of Wuhan as asymptomatic cases are being reported for the first time by Chinese officials since Wednesday, amidst international criticism casting doubts over China's officials figures of the coronavirus.
Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak in China, on Friday asked its residents to stay at home and avoid nonessential outings as the city guards against a rebound in the outbreak, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The local government of Wuhan, in a notice, asked the city's residential communities to continue closed-off management of residents' movements ensuring that their temperatures are checked and they wear masks, Xinhua news agency reported.
The notice warned against slackening vigilance amid the increased flow of people and influx of non-locals. Wuhan, which has been sealed off since January 23 to contain the epidemic, is expected to lift outbound travel restrictions on April 8.
The city's public transportation has partly resumed services, and there are visibly more pedestrians and vehicles on the roads.
The advise for Wuhan residents to stay at home follows concerns at the top leadership of the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC) of a second wave of infections.
Under criticism from the international community for acting late to contain COVID-19 which broke out in December last year, the CPC leadership appeared keen to avert a rebound even as it gradually opened the province and the country to return to normalcy.
The leading group of officials headed by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called for enhanced management of asymptomatic cases through measures from screening, reporting, quarantine, to medical intervention, the management of close contacts, and daily information release, an official press release said.
Wuhan authorities are studying whether the government should test all residents to find asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers amid public worry over a second outbreak, the daily's report said.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
