As the sequel of the severity of the COVID-19 second wave, the Tamil Nadu government has tightened the already existing lockdown and restrictions in the state to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The fresh restrictions will come to effect from May 15 and they will be limiting the functioning hours of essential shops and movements of the people between the districts. 

The intensified restrictions are the second episode of the lockdown imposed by the DMK government, which has come to power a week ago. MK Stalin has assumed the office of the Chief Minister for the first time on May 7 and the government has imposed a complete lockdown in the state from May 10 to May 24. The lockdown has banned public and private transportations and restricted the functioning of various establishments. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic is rampantly spreading in the state with unprecedented surges, the government has decided to strengthen the lockdown and a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said that the new restrictions will come into force on May 15 in addition to existing restrictions, following the Chief Minister's consultation with senior government officials and medical experts on May 14. The following are the fresh restrictions that you should know,

The government has brought the E-pass system again into force to monitor the movements of the people. The system was in effect during the last year's lockdown where the people moving between the districts in the state must apply and acquire a pass for their travel. Likewise, the new order has mandated the E-pass registration for those travelling between the districts in Tamil Nadu to monitor the movements. 

The people will only be granted the E-pass for essential services like medical treatment, marriage, and death. They have to disclose required documents to acquire a pass and the e-pass system will come into effect from 6 am on May 17 and it will likely stay in force till May 24. If you want to apply for the e-pass, please visit -https://eregister.tnega.org/#/user/pass. You will be asked to enter the mobile number, the reason for travelling, and the details of the vehicles, and the number of travellers.

While the e-pass system comes into effect on May 17, other restrictions have already come into effect from 4 am on May 15 and will be in place till 4 am on May 24. The other restrictions include limiting the functioning of the grocery and vegetable shops. The following are the restrictions that you should know,

• Street vendors selling vegetables, flowers, and fruits, as well as tea stalls, will be not allowed to operate from May 15.
• Night Curfew between 10 pm to 4 am will continue to be functional along with complete lockdown on Sundays till May 23.
• The government has said that ATMs and fuel stations will be functioning as usual and all other essential services from milk distribution, hospitals, pharmacies, and ambulance services will have no restrictions.
•  The government has asked the Chennai Corporation and the District Collectors to take action and shift the fish and meat shops to larger areas as these shops are witnessing more crowds. 
• Hotels will be functioning as usual and will be offering parcel services. Food delivery platforms like Swiggy and Zomato will be allowed to carry out deliveries from 2 pm to 6 pm. 
• Delivery of groceries, vegetables, meat, and fish through services like Dunzo will be allowed to function from 6 am to 10 am. 
•  The timings for shops selling groceries, vegetables, meat, and fish have been decreased. These shops were allowed to operate until 12 noon till May 14 and as per the new restrictions, these establishments will only be allowed to stay open from 6 am to 10 am, with only 50% footfall of customers. 

On Friday, Tamil Nadu has reported 31,892 fresh cases, the highest single-day rise recorded by the state since the outbreak began. The state has also reported 20,037 fresh discharges and 288 deaths. Overall, Tamil Nadu has recorded 15,31,377 COVID-19 cases so far as of Friday of which 1,95,339 are active, 13,18,982 have been discharged, and 17,056 had succumbed to the viral infection.