Chennai, April 24: The Tamil Nadu government announced an "intense lockdown" in five major cities including state capital Chennai from April 26. The strict shutdown measures are aimed at curbing the spread of the highly contagious novel coronavirus. The four other cities which will be placed under the stringent restrictions include Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirupur and Salem. Pinarayi Vijayan Seeks PM Modi's Intervention to Bring Back Mortal Remains of NRIs Who Died Due to Reasons Other Than COVID-19.

By "intense lockdown", the state government intends that all forms of public movement would be curtailed in the city for the four-day period. Procurement of essential supplies, including milk, grocery and medicine would be permitted in a regulated manner. The crippling shutdown will come into effect from Sunday 6 am and end on the night of Wednesday 9 pm.

The government will allow Amma canteens, providing meals to the poor at subsidised rates, to operate during the lockdown. Essential services would be provided at only state-run shops and restaurants would be allowed to provide only home-deliveries. ATMs will remain open, and vegetable and fruit vendors would be allowed to sell for certain hours.

Hospitals, irrespective of whether they are treating COVID-19 or non-coronavirus cases, are also permitted to operate. Community kitchens providing food and shelter to elderly and homeless persons are also allowed to remain open. All other establishments and shops would remain closed, the government said.

While Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai will see the restrictions throughout the four days, the lockdown in Madurai and Salem would be relaxed after 9 pm on Tuesday. The lockdown measures would be stricter in areas which entail COVID-19 hotspot zones.

Tamil Nadu is the third-worst affected state in India, with over 2,400 coronavirus cases. The numbers include 1,683 active infections, 752 cured cases and 20 patients who have succumbed to death so far. The nationwide tally on Friday accelerated to 23,077, including 17610 active infections and 718 deaths.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2020 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).