Inter-district bus transport and passenger train services within Tamil Nadu will resume from September 7, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced on Wednesday. "Considering public welfare, inter-district government and private bus transport will be allowed across Tamil Nadu following the Standard Operating Procedure from September 7," Palaniswami said in a statement. Passenger train services within the state will also be permitted from September 7, he said. Inter-state train services are already operational on permitted routes. Suburban train services, which were stopped from March across the country, continue to be barred. EPS said alongside a slew of ongoing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, economic recovery was also imperative, and the new relaxations were in continuation of other steps taken days ago, such as opening up places of worship, malls and lodges. Appealing to people to follow COVID protocols such as social distancing, use of masks and hand hygiene, the Chief Minister said "the spread of the virus can be stopped if the government norms are followed without fail.” Mother from Theni becomes the first woman ambulance pilot in TN CM Palaniswami Monday flagged off 118 new ambulances to strengthen the state’s emergency services amid the coronavirus pandemic. Driving one of ambulances in the fleet was 30-year-old Veeralakshmi, who also became the first woman ambulance pilot in the state. READ | ‘I wanted to step out, help people’: Meet Veeralakshmi, first woman ambulance pilot in Tamil Nadu Veeralakshmi got the job after serving as a call taxi driver for three years in Chennai. Hailing from Bodinayakanur in Theni, Veeralakshmi had completed her diploma in automobile engineering. After marriage, she moved to Chennai with her husband who had been serving as a taxi-driver for more than 10 years. A mother of two, Veeralakshmi said after watching the entire country battling the COVID-19 pandemic, she wanted to help. This prompted her to take up the job. “I had no fear. I was interested in taking up this job. I was serving as a call taxi driver for three years. I wanted to step out and help the people in this difficult period. I started training for the ambulance pilot position since the beginning of June. With the support of seniors and others, I completed my training and now I am completely focused on the job." Two more labs approved for COVID-19 testing Two more labs in Tamil Nadu have been approved for COVID-19 testing in the state. Government District Head Quarters Hospital in Madurai's Usilampatti and Gudalur Adivasi Hospital in the Nilgiris were approved for testing on Wednesday. With this, the number of labs for COVID-19 testing in the state has gone up to 154 (64 government and 90 private labs). Metro trains to run every 10 minutes during peak hour, as per draft SOP Chennai metro services are also set to be back on track from September 7, with only three passengers to be allowed to sit in a seven-seater bench inside a coach and only one passenger in other seats, as per draft SOP. READ | Govt announces SOP for metro services: Here’s how different cities have their own guidelines Moreover, only four people will be allowed to use the escalator in one go. Passengers will be screened through thermal guns and hand sanitisers will be provided. Trains will run every 10 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during non-peak hours. The Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) has also installed foot-operated lifts to avoid contact with the elevator buttons. 461 fever clinics in Chennai A total of 461 fever clinics were operated in Chennai on Wednesday. A total of 22,238 people visited the camps with swabs collected from 1,116 individuals. As many as 1,122 people with ILI symptoms were identified and tested for COVID-19, while medicines were provided for those with minor illnesses. Teynampet (Zone 9) had the most camps (52), while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with 10 camps. 461 Fever clinics were conducted in Chennai today. 22,238 people attended the clinics and 1,122 symptomatic patients were identified & tested for COVID-19 and others given medicines for minor ailments.#Covid19Chennai#GCC #Chennai#chennaicorporation pic.twitter.com/VLZs0bl0GX — Greater Chennai Corporation (@chennaicorp) September 2, 2020 Recoveries cross 13,000 in two zones in Chennai Recoveries have crossed 13,000 in two of the 15 zones in Chennai. Kodambakkam (Zone 10) has the most recoveries at 13,820, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). Anna Nagar (Zone 8) is second with 13,742 recoveries. Here is the zonal-wise break-up of active cases in Chennai as of 9 am on Wednesday: Thiruvottiyur (Zone 1) - 4024 Manali (Zone 2) - 1970 Madhavaram (Zone 3) - 4296 Tondiarpet (Zone 4) – 10,692 Royapuram (Zone 5) – 12,330 Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar (Zone 6) - 9218 Ambattur (Zone 7) – 8300 Anna Nagar (Zone 8) – 13,742 Teynampet (Zone 9) – 11,976 Kodambakkam (Zone 10) – 13,820 Valasaravakkam (Zone 11) - 7518 Alandur (Zone 12) - 4204 Adyar (Zone 13) - 9158 Perungudi (Zone 14) - 3832 Sholinganallur (Zone 15) - 3208 5,990 fresh cases, 98 deaths reported Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 5,990 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 4,39,959. With 98 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the death toll reached 7,516. A total of 75,829 samples tests were done by RT-PCR today. So far, 49,64,141 samples have been tested in Tamil Nadu. On Wednesday, as many as 5,891 persons were discharged, taking the number of recovered patients to 3,80,063. There are 52,380 active cases in the state. In Chennai, 1,025 cases were reported, which pushed the city's overall tally to 1,37,732. Other neighboring districts of Thiruvallur (285), Chengalpattu (390) and Kancheepuram (133) reported 808 Covid-19 cases. Coimbatore, with 579 cases, recorded the second highest tally of cases in the state today. In Salem (403) and Cuddalore (405), cases continue to surge. Of the 7,72,721 passengers who entered Tamil Nadu through various modes of transport, 6,369 have tested positive. (With inputs from PTI)
