Chennai: Tamilnadu and other parts of the country today entered the fifth phase of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, however with increased relaxations. Barring Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts, public transport resumed in Tamilnadu from this morning.
Fifty per cent of State-owned buses started plying in various routes with not more than 60 per cent occupancy of passengers. Social distancing, sanitising and other measures are beingf followed.
The Tamilnadu government Sunday extended the lockdown for the fifth time from today till 30 June, while announcing a slew of relaxations across the state, except in four high-incidence districts, including Chennai.
In a statement here, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who held a series of meetings with the district collectors and medical expert panel, said the the lockdown, to control the spread of the coronavirus has been extended till June 30, even as the COVID-19 positive cases crossed the 21,000 mark in the state, including a shade less than 14,000 in Chennai, besides 160 deaths.
He announced several relaxations across the state, including resumption of limited number of public transport buses, except in four high-incidence districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu, which together contributed about than 77 per cent of the total corona cases in the State.