Lockdown in state may be extended by 2 more weeks

Panel Bats For It, Announcement By EPS Today

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.04.2020

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is all set to announce on Saturday the extension of the 21-day lockdown that was slated to end on April 14 in the state.

A 19-member medical expert committee that met on Friday recommended to the CM that prohibitory orders be extended by two more weeks.

The CM will take part in a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening. He will later hold a cabinet meet before making a formal announcement on the extension.

Chief secretary K Shanmugam said the CM had received inputs from the 12 coordination committees on Thursday and views of various experts. “He held a discussion with experts in epidemiology today (Friday). The common viewpoint of the experts is that all our efforts will be wasted if the prohibitory order is lifted and the virus spread is not contained,” Shanmugam said. 

PM to speak to CMs on lockdown extension

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will consult with chief ministers on Saturday morning on the Covid-19 situation amid expectations that the deliberations will lead to a decision, strongly hinted at by Modi during his discussions with Parliament floor leaders, to extend the national lockdown beyond April 14. A further period of two weeks could be on the cards. Meanwhile, Punjab on Friday became the second state after Odisha to extend the lockdown, till May 1. P 9

Total infections 911, deaths 8; sources in 23 cases unknown

The experts committee had earlier appreciated efforts of the state government in combating Covid-19 and the strong public health system in place for quick detection of cases. “Though efforts have been taken, cases have been increasing. The expert panel felt that lockdown should be extended. This is the recommendation made to the state,” National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Prabhdeep Kaur told reporters.

Arrangements made for patients and their families also came in for praise. The safety of frontline staff, doctors, nurses and paramedics was also discussed. “We have to do a lot of testing in the two weeks of extension and contain the spread. An informed decision could be arrived at when we get good amount of data during that period,” Kaur said.

Meanwhile, a 70-year-old woman who tested positive for Covid-19 died at the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital and 77 more people tested positive for the virus on Friday, chief secretary K Shanmugam said. This took the the total number of cases in the state to 911and fatalities to eight.

One of the patients who turned positive on Friday was an administrative staff working in the directorate of medical services. Staff at the DMS and DPH were screened. “He hasn’t been coming to work for ten days now. He was quarantined as he was a contact of a Covid-19 positive patient.”

Shanmugam said the state would expand the scope of tests in containment areas. All close contacts of Covid-19 patients will be tested. “So far, we have been testing only family members of positive patients. Their contacts were quarantined. Tests were done only if they showed symptoms. The CM has now told they must be subjected to test as soon as rapid testing kits arrive. Protocols for the kits are now being revised,” he said.

“Among people who tested positive today, five had travel history and the others were contacts of Covid-19 patients. All of these people were within the containment zones,” he said.

He did not specify how many of these people were from the Tablighi Jamaat cluster. Among the 911infections so far, the state has not been able to track sources for 23 cases.


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