Chennai: Tamilnadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said that a decision about the reopening of schools, colleges and cinema theatres will be taken after consulting with medical experts.
Speaking to mediapersons after holding a review meeting with District Collectors via video conferencing from the Secretariat, Palaniswami said that the officials were directed to be cautious ahead of the festival season.
“Corona cases have come down in the State due to the measures taken by the government. Tamilnadu government has issued more that four crore face masks. Necessary PPEs are in stock. So far 96 lakh people have been tested,” he said.
With the ongoing lockdown ending on 31 October and with the Centre extending it for one more month on Tuesday, Palaniswami held the meeting today to discuss the way forward.
While the meeting with the District Collectors took place at the Secretariat this morning, via video conferencing, Palaniswami discussed with healthcare experts in the afternoon.
Since Covid-19 figures are constantly coming down in Tamilnadu, more relaxtions from the existing restrictions can be expected, sources said.
During a similar meeting last month, Palaniswami urged District Collectors to step up efforts to further decrease the Covid-19 mortality rate in Tamilnadu.
Addressing a review meeting of Collectors on Covid-19 through a virtual link from the Secretariat, Palaniswami flagged the need for more awareness.
District collectors should increase awareness among the people on the need to seek healthcare assistance by visiting hospitals within 24 hours of the manifestation of symptoms like fever, breathlessness, fatigue and a loss of taste, he had said.
Meanwhile, Tamilnadu is continuing to register a dip in new infections. On Tuesday, the State recorded 2,522 fresh Covid-19 cases and 27 more deaths, pushing the tally to 7,14,235 and toll to 10,983.
According to the State Health department, Chennai’s daily case count dipped further to 695, while Coimbatore recorded 209 cases. While 146 persons tested positive in Salem, there were 144 fresh cases in Chengalpattu.