A day after taking the oath as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin announced a complete lockdown in Tamil Nadu.
The decision was announced on the 8th of May, in the wake of the rising number of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Tamil Nadu.
On the 7th of May, after the oath taking ceremony, the newly formed State Cabinet conducted a review meeting and decided on the same. District collectors, medical experts, senior officials and newly inducted Cabinet ministers were present during the meeting.
The complete two week lockdown would begin from the 10th of May and would continue till the 24th of May.
The newly elected Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin issued a statement regarding the same. According to the statement, the lockdown was imposed due to unavoidable reasons.
Mr. M.K. Stalin said, “The total lockdown will be enforced from 4 am on May 10 to 4:00 A.M., on May 24 to further intensify the efforts to curb the spread of the disease.”
However, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government announced certain relaxations of the lockdown protocols, for the next two days, the 8th and the 9th of May, despite instituting a weekend lockdown.
Shops and other essential commodity service providers are allowed to function till 9:00 P.M. The relaxation was imposed considering the strict and complete lockdown, starting from the 10th of May.
During the complete lockdown, the State run liquor outlets operated by Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC,) all bars, spas, gyms, beauty parlours, saloons, auditoria, cinema theatres, recreation clubs and amusement and zoological parks would be shut.
Beaches and tourist attractions in the hilly locations of Udhagamandalam and Kodaikanal would also be unavailable. Offices of government departments other than those dealing with essential services including Health, Revenue, Police, Fire and Rescue Services and Disaster Management would remain close
All private offices and companies and IT and ITES firms were also asked to either remain shut or give work from home to employees.
In addition, existing restrictions like limitations on places of worship, a cap on attendees in weddings and funerals, closure of schools and colleges would continue as it is. Inter and intra district public and private bus services would also be closed and private taxis and auto would also be non functional.
Those travelling for essential work like wedding, death, interview or exams shall produce proof to be allowed permission to proceed.
Standalone shops selling vegetables, groceries, provision items, fish and meat products can remain open till 12 noon with only fifty percent customers.
E-commerce firms distributing items and deliveries would also be allowed till noon with all COVID-19 guidelines.
However, media, courier firms, hospitals and related services, fuel outlets, continuous process industries, data centers, and telecom services were exempted from the lockdown. The State run Amma Canteens would also be functional.
M.K. Stalin urged people to follow all the COVID-19 protocols and imposed lockdown strictly.
Tamil Nadu is one of the worst COVID-19 hit states in India. In the past 24 hours, the State reported 26,465 new cases. With this, Tamil Nadu has13.23 lakh positive cases 1,35,355 active cases and 15,171.
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