With a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar in an interview clarified that there would not be no lockdown in the state over the second wave of the virus. He said that while the government hopes for better public cooperation, a lockdown similar to the one last year, is not being planned. Over the last 12 days, the rate of increase in COVID-19 cases in the state has been at an alarming 135%.

Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu government cancelled physical classes for students in classes 9, 10 and 11. While online classes have begun for schools and colleges, Class 12 students who will be facing their board examinations this May, will continue their physical classes with safety measures in place.

The increasing cases also prompted the Puducherry government to shut schools till May 31, earlier this week. There will be no classes for students from Class 1 to Class 8. However, there will be online classes for students in classes 9 to 12 which will be held five days a week.

Health Secretary Dr. Radhakrishnan said that the government has decided to give corona vaccine to all those above 45 years of age from April 1. To make it more accessible to the public, we have set up a total of 5,000 vaccination centres in government hospitals, primary health centers, private hospitals, and zonal offices in the state.

He asserted that the rise in Covid-19 cases is only due to the negligence of people who refrain from wearing a mask. A total of 61,246 people were fined Rs 1.31 crore from March 16 till Friday for not following corona rules, he added.