Following the implementation of the complete lockdown in Chennai and its three adjacent districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Thiruvallur, the Tamil Nadu government has now imposed a complete lockdown in Madurai as the sequel of soaring cases has brought the temple city under the ambit of tight restrictions.

According to the government, Madurai city corporation, Paravai Town Panchayat, Madurai East and West Blocks of the district, and all village panchayats of Thiruparankundram would go under the complete lockdown from June 24 to June 30. The biggest corporation in southern Tamil Nadu would see the restrictions at the scale of Chennai and its neighboring districts.

The decision of shutting down the third-largest city in the state has been taken in the wake of the sharpest rise of COVID-19 cases in the district, leaving the possibility of forming a cluster.  The government has passed the order of implementing the lockdown on Monday- June 22 and on the same day, Madurai witnessed the unprecedented rise of cases after reporting 157 new COVID-19 cases. 

Madurai has been one of the major cities in the state with more cases. According to the state health department, Madurai has reported 849 cases so far as of Monday of which 452 are active cases, 389 have discharged, and eight patients had succumbed to the virus. According to the reports, about 14 of 100 wards in the district contributed to 50% of the cases as of June 18 and last week, the virus had a rapid spread across most of the wards. 

Madurai would see similar restrictions like Chennai where the movement of essential and emergency services would be permitted in Madurai from June 24 till the end of the month and the government has barred the functioning of non-essential services. Vegetable shops, fuel stations, and grocery stores in Madurai corporation would be allowed to function from 6 am to 2 pm with strict guidelines of observing social distancing.

People in the district have been directed to refrain from plying the vehicles and they were insisted to walk to purchase the essentials from the shops located within a 1.5 kilometers radius and restaurants in Madurai have been barred from offering dine-in services and they have been permitted to offer takeaways and parcel services.

Public distribution services (ration shops) will be functioning from 8 am to 2 pm and the ration shops in the containment zones will be closed and people living in the containment zones will be receiving rations at their doorsteps. Amma Canteens will be functioning so are the trains and flights according to the existing norms. 

Like Chennai, Madurai would also go under complete shutdown on June 28- Sunday during which only extremely essential services like milk supply, hospitals, pharmacies, and ambulance services will be permitted and the rest of the services like restaurants, rations, and essential shops would be barred from functioning. For people who are exiting Madurai, they must be aware that the e-pass will only be given for the purposes of attending weddings, funerals, and medical emergencies and they must disclose valid documents for obtaining the e-pass.