The state of Telangana has become the first Indian state to extend the lockdown beyond May 3rd as it has announced that the state would be remaining under the complete lockdown until May 7th with no compromise on restrictions. The state's newest deadline has surpassed what the Center has announced earlier to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Chief Minister of Telangana Chandrasekhar Rao has issued a fresh directive of what he claimed as the decision taken with the interest of public health. He said that the lockdown would be in place till May 7 without awarding any relaxation. While addressing the reporters on Sunday night, he stated that the cabinet has decided for the extension after analyzing the current situation of the outbreak.

He further stated that the rules and prohibitory orders, including night curfew, would play its role and the government would strengthen the rules as the state cabinet has decided not to provide or permit any relaxations to grip up the fight although the Center has permitted to provide some relaxations in the certain activities across the nation after April 20. He added that the state cabinet would again be meeting on May 5th during which further decisions and directives would be taken based on the situations.

The Chief Minister said that the state has reported 18 fresh cases for the virus on Sunday taking the total number of infected cases to 858 including 651 active patients, 186 discharges, and 21 deaths. By citing that the food delivery apps would be suspended from Monday,  he asked the people to avoid ordering food from outside during the lockdown. He asserted that people can get the services and supply of groceries through mobile applications.

He appealed to the visitors and passengers not to visit Telangana till May 7th as the transportations and the movements of the vehicles have been restricted. According to the reports, the state government has ordered the landlords to postpone the collection of rent from the tenants for March, April, and May and the landlords are barred from imposing and collecting interest for postponing the rent payment. 

He highlighted that 87.50 lakh ration cardholders in the state would be provided with 12 kg of rice per person free of cost. Adding to that, the government would also provide Rs 1,500 per family to procure the essentials, vegetables, and groceries for May and this grant would also apply for the migrant workers. It must be recalled that Chandrasekhar Rao earlier announced that the virus would be contained in the state within April 7.