COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu: Lockdown extended till March 31

Tamil Nadu government has extended the statewide lockdown by a month till March 31 amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases. District administrations have been asked to encourage coronavirus appropriate behavior and ensure wearing face masks, hand hygiene. Authorities have also urged people to ensure social distancing, and warned spitting in public places will be penalised. The shutdown was previously imposed till February 28.

The state government has directed authorities to crack down strictly on violations of any of the COVID-19 protocols.  

Authorities have been asked to classify containment zones at the micro-level, as per the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health if needed. Local police, district and municipal authorities will be responsible to ensure prescribed measures for containment zones are strictly followed.

Guidelines for offices

• Offices and industrial establishments have been advised to follow staggering of work hours.

• They have also been asked to provide thermal scanning and hand sanitiser at entry and exit points of common areas. 

• Entire workplace shall be sanitised between shifts.

• Common facilities and points that come into human contact like door handles and lift buttons shall also be sanitised between shifts.

• Shift in-charges will have to ensure adequate social distancing between workers, gaps between shifts and staggering of lunch breaks, etc.

International travel continues to remain prohibited in the state, besides those related to essential services and permitted exceptions. Tamil Nadu has reported total 8,51,542 COVID-19 cases till 08:00 am on March 1, 2021. Out of these, 8,35,024 people have recovered from the contagion whereas 12,496 people succumbed to it. The state has a total of 4,022 active cases so far. According to the Union Health Ministry's COVID-19 dashboard, Tamil Nadu has reported 490 new coronavirus cases and 3 deaths over the past 24 hours.

Also read: COVID-19 in India: Cases cross 1.11cr; fatality rate drops to 1.41%

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