Hyderabad, April 30 -- The Telangana government on Friday extended the ongoing night curfew till May 8, putting all speculations of an impending lockdown to rest. State chief secretary Somesh Kumar passed a GO, extending the existing curfew. Many had been expecting a complete shut down, given that thousands of COVID-19 cases are being reported everyday in the southern state.

Prior to this, the Telangana government on April 20 had passed an order restricting movement of the general public from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. for a period of 10 days. On that day, the state had reported nearly 6,000 new COVID-19 cases. On Friday, 7,646 new cases had been reported. Under the restrictions, all shops and establishments, barring those involved in essential se...