Coimbatore district will go into full lockdown from 5 pm on Saturday, July 25 to 6 am on Monday, July 27, owing to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the recent days. According to a statement released by K Rajamani, the District Collector of Coimbatore, only essential services such as medical, electricity and milk distribution will be permitted during the lockdown.

“Uzhavar sandhai, markets, grocery shops, fish markets, flower markets, meat shops, TASMAC outlets and trade/commercial establishments will not be allowed to function,” the statement said. It added that strict action will be taken against those who are found outside without a valid reason during the lockdown period.

Tamil Nadu is already under lockdown until July 31, with certain permitted relaxation in districts allowed by the state government. Aside from this, a total shutdown has been ordered on all Sundays until the end of July to restrict the spread of coronavirus and the movement of people.

Coimbatore district has reported at least 100 new cases of COVID-19 every day over the past week. On Friday, the district reported 189 new coronavirus cases and four deaths due to the disease. The total number of patients currently being treated for the disease in the district was recorded at 1,275 as of Friday.

On July 15, the Coimbatore District Collector tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to hospital. He was recently discharged from the hospital after making a full recovery.

Tamil Nadu has 53,132 active cases of COVID-19, of which 6,785 were confirmed on Friday. The state also reported 88 deaths due to COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total death toll to 3,320. Over 6,500 patients were discharged on recovery from COVID-19 on Friday and the total number of patients recovered is 1,43,297.