The Tamil Nadu state government has highly been considering to give another round of extension to the statewide lockdown and the newest spell is likely to come to effect on May 18 and it would be in place till May 29 as the government is citing the extension as the only option to curb the rapid spread of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

Tamil Nadu has been witnessing the sharpest rise in the number of COVID-19 cases since the start of May and the steady spike in the cases has put Tamil Nadu in the second spot in India with having more cases after Maharashtra. According to the reports, the government could keep the lockdown till May 29 but it would have a different set of rules and relaxations than the preceding ones. 

The government is considering the lockdown extension after the expert team comprises of health officials and medical experts, that was installed by the government, suggested to extend the lockdown by providing gradual relaxations. The team had met with Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami on Thursday and placed their recommendations. The reports say that the current red zones will less likely get the relaxations.

The red zones and the hotspots will largely stay under the lockdown till the end of May and Chennai will also be part of the extension ambit. The government would be adding regulations while dealing with the next spell as it has been expected that the government would pour some relaxations to existing restrictions of private offices and industries which employ more manpower. 

The government eyes to resume the services of public transport and it would permit the resumption of one-third of the buses across the state. However, the resumption of public transport would be minimal in the red zones with tight restrictions while the orange and green zones would see the easing of the restrictions. The Chief Minister had already made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to resume train and flight services till the end of May and his appeal has signaled that the important inter-state and inter-district transportation channels would less likely be permitted. 

The government is expected to roll out the new set of guidelines on Saturday or Sunday on how the state would end the month.  However, the reports further stated that the government won't be giving relaxations on resuming the operations of recreational centers including cinema halls, clubs, and shopping malls. As of Thursday evening, the state has reported 9,674 positive cases so far of which 7,365 are active, 2,240 have been discharged, and 66 had succumbed to the virus. Chennai has reported 5,637 cases so far including 363 cases that were tested positive on Thursday. The current spell of the lockdown will come to an end on May 17.

Willing to return to Tamil Nadu amid lockdown, please be aware of the guidelines here: You must know these guidelines if you are traveling to Tamil Nadu!