Fate of lockdown to be decided on May 2

The Chief Minister also reviewed the situation across the State with all District Collectors through video conference.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami chairing a review meeting with officials on precautionary measures,  at the Secretariat on Wednesday | Express
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami chairing a review meeting with officials on precautionary measures, at the Secretariat on Wednesday | Express

CHENNAI: With the four-day intensified lockdown in three municipal corporations — Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai — coming to end on Wednesday night, the State government has announced that the regular lockdown will continue in these Corporations till May 3 as per earlier restrictions.

This means grocery and vegetable shops will be allowed to function between 6 am and 1 pm every day.   However, on Thursday alone, these shops will be allowed to remain open between 6 am and 5 pm.  

A State Cabinet meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on May 2 will take a decision on whether or not to extend the Statewide lockdown beyond May 3.  The Cabinet is also expected to discuss whether relaxations can be given to some districts where no new cases have been reported for the past few days.

In an official release, the government appealed to the people not to rush to the shops to buy essential commodities. People should be patient and maintain social distance. They should wear masks as COVID-19 spreads from one person to another very fast, the release said.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the situation across the State with all District Collectors through video conference.

He pointed out that the infection has been contained to some extent in certain rural areas as well as in town panchayats and municipalities. It is easily spreading in Chennai city due to its large population, Palaniswami said.

Continuing battle
  Regular lockdown to continue till May 3 as per earlier restrictions
 Grocery & vegetable stores to remain open from 6 am to 5 pm on Thursday alone
 All essential services and institutions in Chennai told to disinfect offices twice a day
 Special field teams formed under IAS officers to curtail public movement in containment zones
 Barring Chennai, the spread is under control in other districts, says Chief Minister

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