COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu: Public transport within zones suspended till June 30; Madurai goes under lockdown

Edappadi further said the decision had been taken to stop the movement of people from one district to another within the zones. He said officials are facing difficulty in tracing the contacts of the COVID-19 positive cases who had travelled within zones without an e-pass.

As per the announcement, buses will operate within the districts. Bikes, cars, and private vehicles are not allowed to ply from one district to another. People who wish to travel from one district to another in case of an emergency need to apply for e-pass.

CM announces solatium to family of father-son duo allegedly killed in police custody

Regarding the alleged custodial killing of shopkeeper Jayaraj (58) and his son Fenix (31) in the Sathankulam town in Thoothukudi district, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that based on the reports of Judicial Magistrate who is conducting an inquiry and Madurai bench of Madras High court, legal action will be initiated.

READ | Protests in Tamil Nadu town over ‘custodial death’ of shopkeeper, son

Expressing his condolences to the family of the deceased, he said that a solatium of Rs 10 lakh each will be provided to the family of the deceased and a government job will be offered to one of their family based on their qualification.

Madurai goes under lockdown

Madurai Corporation limits, Paravai Town Panchayat, all village panchayats of Madurai East and Madurai West and Thirupparankundram blocks of Madurai district went under a strict seven-day lockdown from Wednesday morning in a bid to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases. The lockdown will be lifted June 30 morning.

READ | Madurai becomes fifth Tamil Nadu district to go under lockdown: What’s allowed, what’s not

With the announcement, Madurai becomes the fifth district in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpet and Thiruvallur to go under lockdown. As per the release issued by Chief Secretary K Shanmugam, only essential services will be permitted during the lockdown.

Health, medical labs, pharmaceutical shops, ambulance and hearse vehicle services and allied medical activities will be permitted.

Vegetable shops, grocery shops, and petrol pumps will be permitted to operate with certain restrictions from 6 am to 2 pm. Public who intend to buy essential commodities are directed to avoid traveling by vehicles and should purchase from the shops near the residence, ie from the shops located within 1.5 km from the residence.

Ration card holders in Madurai to get monetary relief

On the seven-day lockdown imposed in Madurai Corporation limits and nearby areas like Paravai Town Panchayat, all village Panchayats of Madurai East and Madurai West and Thiruparakunndram block of Madurai district, CM Edappadi announced that all rice drawing ration cardholders in these areas would be provided cash support of Rs. 1,000.

62 flights at Chennai International Airport

A total of 62 flights plied between Chennai and major cities on Wednesday.
There were 31 arrivals and 31 departures at the Chennai International Airport today. The first flight to Chennai was a flight from Hyderabad which touched down in the city at 7.30 am, while the last flight to Chennai will touch down at 11.20 pm from New Delhi.

The first flight from Chennai which was bound for Port Blair departed from the Chennai International Airport at 5.05 am, while the last flight for today will depart from Chennai at 10.35 pm for Kolkata.

Royapuram continues to lead tally in Chennai

Royapuram (Zone 5) in Chennai continues to lead the tally in the city with 6607 cases recorded in the Zone until 8 am Wednesday. According to data released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Royapuram has the highest number of cases while Manali (Zone 2) has the least number of cases in the city.

Here is the Zonal-wise break-up of positive cases in Chennai as of 8 am on Wednesday:

• Thiruvottiyur (Zone 1) – 1652
• Manali (Zone 2) – 669
• Madhavaram (Zone 3) – 1262
• Tondiarpet (Zone 4) – 5355
• Royapuram (Zone 5) – 6607
• Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar (Zone 6) – 3741
• Ambattur (Zone 7) – 1644
• Anna Nagar (Zone 8) – 4766
• Teynampet (Zone 9) – 5213
• Kodambakkam (Zone 10) – 4794
• Valasaravakkam (Zone 11) – 1880
• Alandur (Zone 12) – 978
• Adyar (Zone 13) – 2684
• Perungudi (Zone 14) – 899
• Sholinganallur (Zone 15) – 860

Tamil Nadu reports highest single-day spike

Tamil Nadu reported a highest single-day spike of 2,865 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the total number of cases to 67,468. As many as 1,654 cases of the total cases were from Chennai. The total number of cases included 91 returnees from other countries and states.

With 33 deaths, the toll rose to 866 in the state. Among the deceased on Wednesday, three had no co-morbidities. A total of 2,424 persons were discharged following treatment taking the recovery count to 37,763. There are still 28,836 active cases in the state.

With 32,079 samples being tested on Wednesday, the state has tested more than 9 lakh samples till date. Apart from the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chengalpet (131), Madurai (97), Thiruvallur (87), Theni (81) and Trichy (75) reported the maximum number of COVID-19 cases.

A total of 3,317 children below the age of 12 have been infected by the virus till date in Tamil Nadu. As of June 24, as many as 2,57,745 persons have entered Tamil Nadu through various modes of travel and 2,736 have tested positive.