As Tamil Nadu has been stumbling in the wake of the never-imagined and unprecedented spikes in COVID-19 cases with a major contribution from Chennai, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has been preparing to meet the expert committee and convene his cabinet on Monday - June 15, to discuss the state of the pandemic and to roll out key decisions on containing the spread. 

The Chief Minister would be chairing the back to back crucial meetings two days ahead of the virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to the reports, the Chief Minister will be meeting the medical experts' committee, which advises the state government on COVID-19, at 11 am in the Chief Secretariat and seek their suggestions on pacing up the containment strategies to curb the virus, which currently is spreading at lightning speed.

Following the meet with the committee, the Chief Minister would immediately convene the cabinet meeting during which the cabinet would likely approve the implementations of fresh strategies for Chennai to mitigate the spread, as the city accounts for nearly 80% of the total affected cases in the state, leaving the government a huge challenge in flattening the curve of COVID-19 affected cases.

The crucial meetings have come when the first fortnight of June had seen the exponential rises in the cases amid the fifth phase of the lockdown that has come with gradual relaxations. However, it has played an ardent effect of adding more cases to the state's tally. The reports stated that, unlike earlier episodes, the Chief Minister has decided to meet the cabinet immediately after meeting the experts' committee in the wake of the rapid spread.

Earlier, the cabinet meeting was convened at least two days after the meeting with the experts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be speaking with the Chief Ministers virtually on June 16th and 17th and Tamil Nadu's turn has been scheduled on June 17th-Wednesday during which the Prime Minister would take stock of the situation in the state.

The Chief Secretariat would go through one of the busiest and crucial weeks and Monday's back to back meet to discuss the crisis has apparently signaled the possibilities some of the important decisions from the state government amid reeling through the rampant spread. As of Sunday, Tamil Nadu has reported 44,661 cases so far and the state's single-day tally neared 2,000 for the past few days with a significant increase in the death toll. On Sunday, the state recorded 38 deaths and two-thirds of cases, discharges, and deaths were reported in Chennai.