TN extends Covid-19 lockdown till June 21, relaxes curbs

Tamil Nadu has extended the Covid-19 lockdown till June 21 with more relaxation, according to ANI.

Government-run Tasmac shops will now be allowed to operate between 10 am and 5 pm in 27 districts of the state.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu logged 15,759 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, including two returnees from Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi, pushing the tally to 23.24 lakh, while 378 deaths took the toll to 28,906. Recoveries continued to outnumber new infections with 29,243 people being discharged from hospitals, totalling 21,20,889, leaving 1,74,802 active cases, a health department bulletin said.

Fresh cases have been on the decline in Tamil Nadu since May 21 when the state reported its highest daily count of 36,184 infections. On May 30, the state saw its daily cases dropping below the 30,000 mark, and on June 7, below 20,000.

Three districts constituted the bulk of new cases on Friday with Coimbatore adding 2,056, followed by Chennai with 1,094 and Erode 1,365. The state capital leads in the number of total infections and fatalities among districts with 5,23,123 cases and 7,720 deaths. Chengalpet, Salem, Thanjavur and Tiruppur reported new cases in excess of 500 infections each while the rest was scattered across other districts.

After about a three-month gap Perambalur recorded less than 100 cases on Friday, with 96 infections. Among the 378 deceased, 80 did not have any comorbidities, the bulletin said.

A total of 1,82,586 were tested on Friday, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 2,96,07,865.

Meanwhile, medical and family welfare minister M Subramanian told reporters that the state has received 3.65 lakh vaccine doses, which would be distributed to various districts tonight. He was speaking after inspecting the facility at the Department of Public Health, where the vaccines are stored. Earlier, the minister flagged off a 'Drive-Thru' Covid vaccination camp, organised at MGM Healthcare. "It is being launched for the first time in Tamil Nadu. Through this facility, people coming in four-wheelers can get vaccinated by staying in their cars", he said. He lauded MGM Healthcare for this initiative and also other hospitals for their efforts in undertaking the vaccination drive and urged people to come forward in large numbers to get inoculated.

(With inputs from PTI)