Tamil Nadu Coronavirus June 18, 19 Highlights: Thirumangalam signal in Chennai is deserted as citizens adhere to the lockdown guidelines. Express Photo
Tamil Nadu Coronavirus June 18, 19 Highlights: Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet districts will go on an intense 12-day lockdown from today in a bid to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases in the districts.
READ | Complete lockdown in four Tamil Nadu districts: Here is what’s allowed, what’s not
The Greater Chennai Police have issued a series of instructions for the city residents to follow during the period. Barring hospitals, labs, ambulances, pharmacies, and funeral hearses, there are restrictions on other activities. Auto rickshaws, taxi cabs will not be allowed to run in the city except in case of emergency.
People are allowed to buy vegetables, groceries, and other essential items only from shops that are within a two-kilometer range from their residence. Shops will be allowed to function from 6 am till 2 pm.
Tamil Nadu recorded 2,141 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the state tally to 52,334. Among these, Chennai reported 1373 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 37,070.
Tamil Nadu recorded 49 deaths on Thursday, putting the state toll at 625. At least 42 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities.
Tamil Nadu Coronavirus Live Updates: Airports will remain operational in Chennai during the lock down. (Express Photo/File)
In the all-party convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the tense situation on the border with China, Stalin said he was glad to hear PM state that India wants peace, but it will not hesitate to retaliate if needed. Stalin further added that DMK has always stood in support, of the national interests."We have always worked to strengthen the hands of the Prime Ministers, be it Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi or Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Today, we have no hesitation in supporting the Prime Minister Thiru. Narendra Modi, who has convened this All-Party Meeting," Stalin said.DMK stands firmly with the PM Modi says party leader MK Stalin. In the all-party meeting convened by PM to discuss the tense situation on the border with China, Stalin said he was glad to hear PM Modi state that India wants peace, but it will not hesitate to retaliate, if needed.
Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 2,115 new novel coronavirus cases taking the tally to 54,449. The total cases included 40 returnees from other countries and states. In Chennai, as many 1,322 cases were reported. A total of 1,630 persons got discharged and 41 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. There are still 23,509 active cases in the state.
Anna University in Chennai has been directed by the Greater Chennai Corporation to hand over the hostels under its ambit to convert them into isolation wards for treating COVID-19 cases in the city. Corporation Commisioner G Prakash has warned the authorities of legal action if the university fails to hand over its space by tomorrow evening.
The Madras High Court has made it clear that laudatory expressions like ‘Magic Masala’ and ‘Magical Masala’ cannot be monopolised and use of similar expressions would not amount to passing off under the Trademark Act.
The clarification was made while dismissing a plea by ITC, seeking to restrain Nestle India from using the expression ‘Magical Masala’ on their noodles product.
ITC claimed that it has been using the expression ‘Magic Masala’ from 2010 for its noodles products and therefore use of similar expression ‘Magical Masala’ by Nestle from 2013 would amount to passing off under the Trademark Act. Opposing the claim, Nestle contended that ITC cannot claim monopoly over laudatory expressions like ‘Magic’.
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Chennai Corporation Commissioner Prakash said close to 2.10 lakh samples tests have been done in Chennai in the past three months. Addressing the reporters, he said people should not hesitate to inform the corporation workers if they have any symptoms of COVID-19. He also urged the public to make use of the set-up of the medical camp by the corporation in all 15 zones.
The government has directed that all Class 10, 11 students should be declared as having passed their quarterly and half yearly exams. The headmasters of all schools have been directed to do the same immediately.
Earlier, the government had announced that students will be awarded 80 per cent of their marks based on their quarterly and half-yearly examinations and 20 per cent of their marks based on their attendance.
DMK leader M K Stalin will be attending the virtual all-party meet which has been called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the Indo-China stand-off at 5 pm. Modi will be chairing an all-party meet that aims to forge a broad political consensus on the situation.
According to data released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Royapuram has recorded 5828 COVID-19 cases in the zone till date, the highest in Chennai. The second highest is Tondiarpet with 4743 cases, followed by Teynampet with 4504 cases.
The state police have arrested the individual who had made a bomb hoax call to actor Rajinikanth's Poes Garden residence in Chennai on Thursday. A boy studying in Class 8 was said to have made the call. According to the police, the boy, who hails from Nellikuppam in Cuddalore is mentally ill.
Govindharaj, Govindharaj, Teynampet Assistant commissioner had said on Wednesday that a person had called 108 (ambulance control centre) and claimed that he had planted the bombs at actor Rajinikanth's residence. "Immediately, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) were informed and they rushed to the actor's house. The call turned out to be a hoax. We are carrying out further investigations to trace the prankster", he said.
The Tamil Nadu government Thursday withdrew its notification on replacing anglicised versions of Tamil names of at least 1,018 places in the state to match the Tamil pronunciation, saying it was working on alignment of views by experts on transliteration standards. The order was issued by the AIADMK government last week.
Minister for Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture, K Pandiarajan said the government will reissue the order shortly after making necessary changes. “We are working on alignment of views by experts on Transliteration standards from Tamil to English. Hopefully, we should get this released in 2/3 days,” he said in a tweet.
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The Tamil Nadu e-Government Agency, which has been issuing e-passes for individuals to commute during the lockdown has announced that all passes which were issued to essential goods manufacturers, continuous processing industries and essential services prior to June 19 have been suspended. They will have to apply for fresh e-passes to commute during the lockdown.
Passes which were issued for deaths, marriages and medical emergencies for travelling within the Greater Chennai Police limits will be revalidated automatically.
Meanwhile, individuals working in the media, government, judiciary and health sectors can commute using their ID cards.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has announced that all meat, beef, mutton and fish stalls and slaughter houses in Chennai which fall under the GCC's limits will be closed during the lockdown.
Tamil Nadu on Thursday recorded 2,141 positive cases of Covid-19, bringing the state tally to 52,334. Among these, Chennai reported 1373 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 37,070. As of Thursday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu were 23,065. The state discharged 1017 patients following treatment, putting the total number of discharged patients at 28,641.
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With Chennai under a 12-day lockdown from today, Anna Salai will remain closed for commuters except for ambulances.
According to the instructions given by the Greater Chennai Police, vehicles of individuals found moving in the city without valid reasons will be seized.
Cabs and autos plying to and from the Chennai International Airport have been given passes. People working in the health sector, media, government and corporation have been instructed to carry their ID cards at all times.
Checkpoints and drones will be set up across the city to monitor movement.
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19, lockdown in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kancheepuram, unlock phase 1 and more across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the state in real time.
The Tamil Nadu government has withdrawn its order to change the English spellings of the names of several places in keeping with their Tamil pronunciations. The order, issued on June 10, changed the spellings of 1,018 places in the state. Minister for Tamil language and culture, Pandiarajan K tweeted: "The GO on the change of English names for Tamil names for places has been withdrawn. Will absorb all feedback & reissue shortly."
Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported 2,141 new novel coronavirus cases taking the tally to 52,334. The total cases included 50 returnees from other countries and states. In Chennai, as many 1,373 cases were reported. As many as 1,071 persons got discharged and 49 deaths were reported in the state in the last 24 hours.
As many as 18,000 police personnel to be deployed in Chennai from tomorrow as the city undergoes intense lockdown for 12 days starting from tomorrow. Addressing the reporters, Chennai Commissioner AK Vishwanathan said E-pass obtained earlier will not be valid during this period and people need to apply fresh E-pass. He added that so far 788 police personnel have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 300 have recovered following treatment.
The state Employment and Training department has opened a portal to help those looking for jobs during the pandemic in the private sector. The portal will act as a platform for facilitating opportunities in the private sector and not for government jobs. The same can also be accessed through their mobile app.
The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board told the Madras High Court on Thursday that the deadline for the payment of electricity bill will not be extended beyond June 15, except for the four districts in the state which will be under lockdown from Friday.
All Police personnel in Tamil Nadu to observe two minutes silence at 5 pm today to mourn the death of West Mambalam Inspector S Balamurali. Balamurali, who tested positive for novel coronavirus was undergoing treatment at RGGH. He succumbed to the virus on Wednesday.
With the 12-day lockdown set to begin in Chennai from tomorrow, the Greater Chennai Police issued a series of instructions for the city residents to follow during the period.
Barring hospitals, labs, ambulances, pharmacies, and funeral hearses, there are restrictions on other activities. Auto rickshaws, taxi cabs will not be allowed to run in the city except in case of emergency.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has announced that Amma Canteens in the city will serve food free of charge in the city from June 19 to Jun2 30 during the complete lockdown in Chennai.
Following the death of the personal secretary of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday, officials and staff working at the Secretariat have been asked to undergo tests as a precautionary measure, especially those working in the Chief Minister's office.
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan announced on Thursday that board examination results for Class 12 students will be declared in the first week of July.
The minister added that the printing of textbooks have been delayed due to the pandemic. 'If the books are ready by the end of the month, we will take a decision on how to distribute the books', he said. The minister said that the state education department is planning to reduce the syllabus for students. Term tests are likely to be cancelled based on the situation.
Royapuram in Chennai continues to have the highest number of cases with 5626 cases recorded in the zone until 8 am on Thursday. Here is the zonal-wise list of COVID-19 cases across the 15 zones in Chennai according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
The Tamil Nadu government has announced that any leave of absence taken by government employees between March 25 and May 17 during the lockdown will be considered as on-duty.
The government has also released guidelines for the employees until June 30. Differently-abled employees, pregnant women, those with comorbidities, staff undergoing treatment and officers not attending office due to the 50 per cent rule will be exempted and their leave period will be considered as on-duty.
All those who had applied for leave prior to the lockdown and were unable to join duty due to the lockdown restrictions will be considered as having resumed duty upon the completion of the leave period.
The Greater Chennai Police will be enhancing security in the city as Chennai braces for a 12-day complete lockdown from June 19 to June 30. The public has been advised to restrict their shopping within a two kilometre radius and visit these shops by walk. Barricades will be set up at 400 points to curb vehicle movement within the city.
Strict action will be taken against those violating the guidelines.
The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has been directed to install water tanks in containment zones to provide access to drinking water for those who don not have piper water supply to their homes in the zones.
The tanks will be installed temporarily in the containment streets until the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) declares them as non-containment zones. At present, Chennai has 369 containment streets.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami condoled the death of S Balamurali, a Sub Inspector attached to the West Mambalam police station on Wednesday and offered his deepest condolences to the bereaved family. The CM also announced that one member of his family will be offered a government job based on their eligibility.
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Welcome to the live blog from Chennai where we bring to you the latest updates on COVID-19, lockdown in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kancheepuram, unlock phase 1 and more across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the state in real time.