TN GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES FULL LOCKDOWN FOR TWO WEEKS

CHENNAI: With Tamil Nadu witnessing a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases, the government on Saturday announced clamping a two-week “total lockdown” across the state to curb the spread of the pandemic, starting May 10.

Chief Minister M K Stalin said in a statement the lockdown was being enforced due to “unavoidable reasons” and pointed out that the decision was taken based on inputs received at a review meeting he had with district collectors on Friday, besides consultations with medical experts.

The recommendations made by the Union Home and Health ministries had also been factored in. “The total lockdown will be enforced from 4 am on May 10 to 4 am on May 24 to further intensify the efforts to curb the spread of the disease,” he said.

He later took to Twitter to insist that the lockdown had to be clamped in the backdrop of sharp increase in daily new infections of about 25,000 which was likely to go up in the next two weeks.

Earlier, Stalin announced relaxing existing restrictions on business hours for shops on Saturday and Sunday, when a full day-long lockdown is supposed to be in effect, allowing them to remain open till 9 pm to aid people since stricter curbs would kick in from May 10.

The state-run liquor outlets operated by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), all bars, spas, gyms, beauty parlours, salons, auditoria, cinema theatres, recreation clubs and amusement and zoological parks will be shut during this period. Beaches and tourist attractions in the hilly locations of Udhagamandalam and Kodaikanal will be out of bounds for people.

Offices of government departments other than those dealing with essential services including Health, Revenue, Police, Fire and Rescue Services and Disaster Management will not function, he said.

All private offices and companies and IT and ITES firms shall also remain closed and employees can work from home.