Current affairs

Corona outbreak: Tamil Nadu extends section 144 curfew till April 14th!

By TNSCorrespondent, 26 March, 2020
India, Tamilnadu, Chennai, Coronavirus, Epidemic, Global Pandemic

The Tamil Nadu state government has, on Thursday, announced that the statewide curfew under section 144, which was imposed until March 31st, has now been extended till April 14th with the view of mapping the state with the nationwide lockdown that was declared by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has issued the orders of replacing the latest embargo with the older one and it has taken into effect making the state remain under complete lockdown until April 14th and the new order has come when the ordeal brought by the virus still persists across the state. Along with extending the curfew, the Chief Minister has also issued directives and guidelines to tighten the measures installed to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.

 

According to the reports, the transportation channels for the essential services stay open and the vehicles that carry the essential goods and commodities must put up the sticker in front of it and the ban that was imposed on the online delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato wasn't revoked. The Chief Minister stated that people can reach out to the government through '108' helpline concerning the developments and the old age people, ailing people, and pregnant women can dial this number for emergency services. The essential stores including pharmacies, hotels, and grocery stores can function normally while the hotels were barred from offering the dining services but instead they can offer parcel services.

The vehicles carrying meat and dairy products and emergency vehicles can be permitted while the rest of the transportations including road, rails, and air have been barred until April 14th. The reports stated the state government has installed a special team consists of nine IAS officers to monitor the availability and accessibility of the essential services and whether they get supplied to the people. 

 

The government has also advised the banks and the private financial institutions not to demand the people to clear the debts since they currently are not bagging the income due to the lockdown and these establishments have been barred from collecting the interest and the government has strictly warned that criminal action would be taken against such establishments if they found to have violated the directives.

The Chief Minister revealed that the state currently monitors about 54,000 people who have arrived in its territory from foreign countries and the details of these people have been shared to the collectors of the respective districts and the collectors have been directed to ensure that these people stay under home quarantine thereby taking the measures to dispatch all the essential goods and services to the people who are under quarantine directly to their residences. The state government has ordered the state-run hospitals to provide medicines free of cost for the patients suffering due to HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes, and pregnant women for the next two months and the grocery stores can door-deliver the products and these directives have come hours after the Chief Minister chaired the meeting with the higher authorities including Chief Secretary, Health Ministers, and district collectors.

 

Apart from the essential services, the state government has ordered to shut down the non-essential establishments including malls, theaters, parks, bars, recreational clubs, tourist spots and directed to close the schools, colleges, and institutions and it also has closed all the district borders across the state and banned the transportations with the view of enhancing the mechanisms to combat the virus. As of Thursday, the state has reported with 26 positive cases and one death so far due to the pandemic.

 

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