In a circular issued on Sunday afternoon, the state government said that the extension was done keeping in mind the welfare of residents.
The ‘Janata curfew’ in Tamil Nadu has been extended till 5 am on Monday as opposed to the earlier deadline of 9 pm on Sunday, as was announced by the Prime Minister. The state government has, however, maintained that essential services will continue to function as announced before.
This change in timings came in the form of a circular from the Health Department on Sunday afternoon. The circular states that the Prime Minister had called for the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday but keeping in mind the welfare of people, the state was planning to extend it till 5 am on Monday. The other state to extend the curfew so far has been Telangana, which had already announced that it will be observing a 24-hour curfew from 6 am on Sunday to 6 am on Monday.
Tamil Nadu has so far respected the call for a curfew and roads and important junctions are deserted while shops, even those selling fruits and vegetables, remain largely closed even in the capital Chennai. Only ambulances, water lorries and a few private vehicles continue to ply across the city. The state has even partially closed its borders with Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to avoid the spread of the virus. The government is only allowing essential vehicles, such as those carrying milk, fruits, vegetables, medicines, etc, through the border.
Across the state, train services have been suspended and in Chennai, even the Metro rail is not functioning on Sunday. Few buses have been allowed to ply on the road as it is an essential service. Malls, theatres, government school and colleges, parks, zoos and aquariums in the state had already been closed last week to prevent large crowds from gathering.
The announcement on the extension comes shortly after Health Minister Vijayabhaskar tweeted about a seventh COVID-19 patient in the state, a traveller from Spain who tested positive. There are currently six patients under isolation and undergoing treatment for the virus in Tamil Nadu. On Saturday, two Thai nationals and a person who had come from New Zealand were found positive for the virus.
Source: The News Minute