After Maharashtra and Gujarat, lockdown extended in THIS state amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Tamil Nadu has extended the existing state-wide lockdown till March 31. The Tamil Nadu government has put in place centre’s guidelines for containing the spread of COVID-19 cases. Adding to this, the district administration will be taking appropriate COVID-19 measures.

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Chennai: Tamil Nadu has extended the existing state-wide lockdown till March 31. The Tamil Nadu government has put in place centre’s guidelines for containing the spread of COVID-19 cases.

The order directed the district administration to make sure of strict enforcement of measures to prevent and manage COVID-19 and can as far as possible use provision of section 144.

Adding to this, the district administration will be taking appropriate COVID-19 measures, including social distancing and ensuring everyone wears a mask. Moreover, spitting in public places will be penalised.

Meanwhile, other states like Maharashtra and Gujarat are also witnessing massive surge in coronavirus cases and the respective state governments have extended the  lockdown in some districts. 

In Amravati and Achalpur cities, lockdown was extended for a week in view of the coronavirus situation, while restrictions were also imposed for the weekend in Nagpur, Buldhana and Yavatmal. Adjoining Achalpur, Anjangaon Surji town will also remain under lockdown till 6 am on March 8.

The Gujarat government has extended the night curfew in four major cities Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot by another 15 days, the curfew was supposed to end on February 28.

On Saturday, Maharashtra reported more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases for the fourth straight day, raising the caseload in the state to 21,46,777. The death toll in the state due to the pandemic has reached 52,092, as per official data.

The Union Health Ministry said that India’s total number of active COVID-19 cases reached 1,64,511 on Saturday. Moreover, six states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, which have shown a surge in new cases in a span of 24 hours account for 86.37 percent of the new cases.

Meanwhile, in the third phase of the coronavirus vaccination drive which begins from March 1, the government is aiming to expand the vaccination drive to the general public of the nation, which include people with co-morbidities in the 45-59 years age group and senior citizens.

Additionally, the health ministry announced that the registration on the Co-WIN 2.0 portal will open at 9 am on Monday (March 1). The beneficiaries will be able to self-register and book an appointment for the vaccination on Co-WIN 2.0 portal. 

The ministry has also revealed the list of the private hospitals which can participate in the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program which aims to vaccinate the age-appropriate groups.