NEW DELHI, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Local government in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu Thursday announced an extension in partial lockdown until Aug. 31 to curb COVID-19.
A statement from Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that complete lockdown would be imposed across the state with strict restrictions on all Sundays, i.e., Aug. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30.
As per the new directive, no change has been made in the restrictions on public transport including air and rail services. However, there are a few relaxations from the existing lockdown.
The government has extended the timing of all shops and marketplaces by an hour.
"E-commerce companies are allowed to ship both essential and non-essential goods," the Chief Minister said. Restaurants and tea shops would be allowed to take in customers up to 50 percent of their seating capacity between 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Restaurants could be allowed to offer parcel services between 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.," the Chief Minister said.
According to officials night curfew will remain in place from 9:00 p.m. (local time) onward.
Schools and colleges will remain closed until further notice.
"The expeditious measures taken by the Tamil Nadu government to contain the spread of coronavirus has helped reduce the COVID-19 fatality rate to 1.6 per cent in the state and enhance the recovery rate to 73 per cent," Palaniswami said. "Overcoming the challenges posed by the coronavirus, my government strived to improve the health of the people besides the fiscal health of the state. The government ensured uninterrupted availability of essential commodities during the four months of lockdown."
Tamil Nadu is the second worst-hit state in India with 234,114 cases including 3,741 deaths. Enditem
