Tamil Nadu lockdown extended till June 7; Delivery of groceries allowed between 7 am to 6 pm

New Delhi, May 28: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday extended state-wide lockdown till 6 am on June 7 without relaxations to help break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.

The decision to extend the lockdown was taken after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin held meetings with medical experts and senior ministers in the government and after assessing the spread of Covid-19 in the state.

He said the move was done considering public good to rein in the pandemic spread and appealed to the people to cooperate with the government and stay indoors.

Stalin said a pack of 13 grocery items would be distributed to rice category ration card holders through Public Distribution System shops from next month.

With the permission of local bodies, provision stores would be allowed to sell commodities in their respective areas through vehicles like mini cargo vans or pushcarts and online ordering firms too shall be permitted to deliver groceries, he said in a statement.

Such services would be allowed between 7 AM and 6 PM, he added. The existing arrangement to sell vegetables and fruits in residential neighbourhoods through mobile outlets would also continue.

The Chief Minister said that COVID-19 related guidelines, including wearing mask, following individual distancing and washing hands with soap and water or sanitisers should be adhered to.

A two-week lockdown was clamped on May 10 in Tamil Nadu with some relaxations and subsequently, it was extended by one more week, till May 31 and relaxations were withdrawn.

The additional restrictions between May 24 and 31 include closure of vegetable shops and provision stores, which were earlier allowed to work between 6 AM and 10 AM. All such curbs would continue to be implemented till June 7.

Meanwhile, the state has reported 33,361 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the state tally to 19,78,621. Among these, Chennai reported 2779 positive cases, bringing the city's total to 4,93,881.