With July coming to an end, all eyes are on Tamil Nadu government’s lockdown plan for August. Following the Chief Minister’s meeting with medical experts and district Collectors on Wednesday, important announcements relating to the relaxations or tightening of lockdown norms that will be adopted by the state are expected to be made. According to reports, there is a strong indication that the state government may resume inter-district bus transport. However, this may not happen within Chennai city limits. It is being speculated that the status quo will continue in the state, with some new relaxations.
Notably, in June, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced that the state would be divided into eight zones for the sake of transportation. Districts falling under zones one to six are allowed to operate bus transport services with 50% occupancy beginning June 1. Zones seven (Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur and Chengalpattu) and eight (areas under the Chennai police limits) are the only two exceptions where public bus transportation is restricted entirely. E-passes are made mandatory for travelling between zones, and government buses are not permitted to operate between zones.
COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in many districts while Chennai has been maintaining its number, hovering around 1,300 on an average daily. The state has 57,073 active COVID-19 cases as of July 28. Chennai and its neighbouring districts — Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur — put together have 23,769 active COVID-19 cases. Of the 37 districts in Tamil Nadu, 13 districts have less than 500 active COVID-19 cases each.
Virudhunagar has been reporting a steady increase in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. This district has 2,484 patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19. While Coimbatore has 1,581 active COVID-19 cases, Madurai has 2,288 active cases and Trichy has 1,398 active COVID-19 cases.