Hyderabad, Apr 19 (IANS): The Telangana government on Sunday decided to extend the lockdown till May 7 and not to give any relaxation.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao made the announcement on Sunday night after the cabinet meeting.

The state had earlier extended the lockdown till April 30. Though the Centre subsequently extended the nation-wide lockdown by May 3, the state cabinet decided to extend it further by four days.

The Chief Minister said the cabinet took the decision not to give any relaxation after analysing the issue from all angles. An intensive survey shows that 95 per cent of the people are in favour of continuing the lockdown without relaxations.

He said though the Centre has issued guidelines for relaxations for certain sectors, it had left it to the states to take a decision on their implementation.

The Chief Minister announced that three more people died of Covid-19 in the state on Sunday, taking the death toll to 21.

With 18 new positive cases reported on Sunday, the total number of cases rose to 858. A total of 186 patients have so far recovered and discharged from hospitals. The number of active cases stands at 651.