COVID surge: Tamil Nadu announces complete lockdown on January 23

Tamil Nadu announces complete lockdown on January 23; Check detailed Guidelines at AsianetNews English.

Due to a surge in COVID cases, Tamil Nadu has declared a complete lockdown on Sunday. The decision comes a day after the state recorded 28,561 new cases and 39 new fatalities. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu has risen to 30,42,796 with 37,112 deaths, according to the health department.  The state-wide lockdown will begin at 10 pm on Saturday (January 22) and will remain in place till 5 am on Monday (January 24).

Under the one-day lockdown, essential operational services allowed include milk shops, ATM centres, hospitals, hospital-related works, goods transportation and petrol bunks. It would also allow restaurants and hotels to offer takeout services from 7 am to 10 pm and food delivery facilities. Under this regulation, autos and taxis will be permitted to go to airports, bus stations, and train stations.

In light of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, state Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy stated on Friday that all semester examinations for institutions throughout the state will be held online from February 1 to February 20.

 "All essential services permitted on January 16 would be allowed. On January 23, all services and activities that were restricted on that day will be prohibited," an official notification stated.

Here are the guidelines issued by the government: 

• Only essential services will be allowed to operate.
• Restaurants and hotels to offer takeout services from 7 am to 10 pm and food delivery facilities
• Autos and taxis will be allowed to travel to bus station, railway station and aiport.
• All examinations will be held through online mode from February 1 to February 20.

In response to the state's mounting coronavirus cases, the Tamil Nadu government declared a total lockdown on Sundays beginning January 9. In addition, the state had enforced a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am on all days.  The imposition of a total lockdown is seen as an extreme move, while most other states, including Maharashtra, which has had over 40,000 cases in the last two weeks, have refrained from imposing a full closure.