Covid-19 Outbreak: Tamil Nadu Becomes 7th State To Extend Lockdown Till Apr 30 As Cases Rise Over 1,000-Mark

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday evening announced an extension of the Covid-19 lockdown till April 30.

Tamil Nadu becomes the seventh state to announce the extension of the lockdown. (File Photo/ Getty)

Chennai: Taking cues from other states, Tamil Nadu on Monday decided to extend the statewide lockdown in an attempt to avert further spread of the novel Coronavirus. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday evening announced an extension of the COVID-19 lockdown till April 30. In an official statement, the Chief Minister said the decision of extension was based on a video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and based on the instructions of the World Health Organisation and the committee of medical experts and public health. The Chief Minister further said, “Considering that the cases will rise if the lockdown is not extended and based on the cabinet decision on April 11, it has been extended till April 30 under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Section 144 of CrPC". Palaniswami said the lockdown was being extended under provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in line with the decision taken by the State Cabinet on April 11. Due to the extension of lockdown in the state, the rice cardholders would get the essential commodities for May free of cost, including a kg of sugar, tur dal, edible oil and the rice. The families of unorganized workers, including construction labourers, will get cash support of Rs 1,000 each for the second time. Additionally, the guest labourers will get 15kg of rice, a kg of tur dal and a kg of edible oil free of cost. In Chennai, the state government has made arrangements to help residents avail telemedicine services from doctors registered with the Telemedicine Society of India. Tamil Nadu is the third state after Maharashtra and Delhi to cross 1,000 mark in the number of Coronavirus infected cases. Tamil Nadu becomes the seventh state to announce the extension of the lockdown. Earlier, Maharashtra, Punjab, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Telangana had extended the lockdown.