Intense lockdown in Chennai, Madurai to continue till July 5

Intense lockdown in Chennai, Madurai to continue till July 5

General Curbs To Remain In TN Till July 31

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 30.06.2020

The TN government on Monday announced extension of the general lockdown until July 31with an aim to contain the Covid-19 surge. The government also extended the ongoing intense lockdown in Greater Chennai, including parts of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, besides Madurai corporation until July 5.

The government, however, decided to allow all industries, export units and private offices to function with 100% strength in the rest of the state from July 1. In the rural areas of Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Madurai districts it will open up from July 6. Tasmac outlets would be allowed to be kept open between 10am and 8pm in the rural areas of these three districts besides the rest of the state.

Total lockdown on all Sundays in July

It has also announced total lockdown in the state on all Sundays in July to break the chain of infection, while movement of public and private bus transport within the districts will remain suspended between July 1 and 15. Authorised fish, poultry and egg shops will be allowed in corporations, town and village panchayats. The government announced that e-pass would not be required for movement within the districts, while it is required for inter-state movement and inter-district movement. In the intense lockdown areas, the passes issued upto June 30couldbeuseduptoJuly 5.

In areas under intense lockdown, workers shall be accommodated inside the industry premises or nearby places.

On Monday, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami held discussions with public health experts on the way forward. “Lockdown is not the solution, whereas containment management is. Lockdown is requiredby balancing relaxation and restriction,” chief secretary K Shanmugam told TOI.

The governmentdecidedto go ahead with the extension of intense lockdown even as aggressive testing continued acrossthestate.AsCovidcases spiralled in Chennai and Madurai, the plan is to continue the intense lockdown which would help the administrative machinery get a breather to cope with the rising demand for services.

The spike in cases could be seen from the sharp rise in Tamil Nadu’s containment zones -- from 303 to 703 within a week ending June 26. Chennai, Salem, Madurai, Cuddalore, Tirupattur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvannamalai districts have seen an increase in containment zones as well. Only seven of the 37 districts have reported completion of containment, including The Nilgiris, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Trichy, Vellore, Perambalur, Karur and Ariyalur.