While the residents of Chennai have been muddled by the speculations that went viral on social media on whether the government would be imposing another episode of the complete lockdown in the city to curb the spread of COVID-19, one of the senior Tamil Nadu ministers said that the decision of imposing the complete lockdown would be based on the inputs from the medical experts' committee.

While addressing the reporters on Thursday, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister Jayakumar has said that the complete lockdown would be possible in Chennai and its adjacent districts only based on the suggestions put forth by the panel of medical experts to the state government like how the government has decided on the preceding phases of the lockdown.

His response has come amid the swirling speculations on the complete lockdown in Chennai even as the city is witnessing the sharpest surge in COVID-19 cases for the past few days. By pressing that the state has no grounds for the community transmission, Jayakumar added that the government is taking the efforts to contain the spread and appealed to the people to wear masks and adhere to the social distancing norms. 

The speculations of the complete lockdown in the state on the social media platforms have let to file public interest litigation before the Madras High Court. On Thursday, the high court bench comprises of Justices Vineet Kothari and Suresh Kumar has asked the state government to disclose the bench if it has been planning to implement the complete lockdown in Chennai and the judges noted that they have put out the question not as the judges but as the residents of the state.

The bench has instructed the state government to disclose its reports on Friday -June 12, during which the answer on the complete lockdown can be derived from the government. These speculations have come amid the recent study that revealed the discrepancy in COVID-19 deaths raising a sharp question on whether the government has compromised its transparency. 

Must read: COVID-19 in Chennai: Is the city coming under the complete lockdown?