Chennai: Averring that the coronavirus pandemic had not only affected the normal life of the people, but also the economy, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has said the virus spread could not be controlled without the full cooperation of the people.
In an open letter to the people of the State and in his televised address, he said despite the government announcing lockdown and imposing several restrictions, it would not be possible to control the spread of the virus without the full cooperation of the people.
He reiterated his appeal to the people to wash their hands regularly with soaps at home and workplaces and avoid venturing out unnecessarily to the extent possible.
“If going out is inevitable, people should compulsorily wear facemasks, maintain physical distancing, adopt a healthy lifestyle and food habits”, he added.
Stating that people’s livelihood and the country’s economy has to be safe-guarded, Palaniswami said the people, by learning from the experiences till date, should realise their responsibility, take all precautionary measures and follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) announced by the government.
“I am confident that if the government and the people act unitedly, Tamilnadu will recover from the corona pandemic and excel in all departments”, he said and listed out various steps taken by the government to combat the spread of the virus.
Pointing out that the people of the State had overcome several challenges spread over several generations, he said, “we have faced natural disasters and overcome it. Now we are waging a battle against the coronavirus, which is posing a serious threat to the mankind. There is no doubt that we will win this battle too like our ancestors.”