Tamil Nadu imposes COVID-19 restrictions till 15 Sep, Ganesh Chaturthi to remain low key

The Tamil Nadu government imposed new restrictions in the state on Monday. Highlighting an increase in COVID-19 infections in the neighbouring state of Kerala, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin issued a new directive restricting movement at gatherings till 15 September. 

As per the new directive, all religious places will be closed from Friday to Sunday. On Sundays, admission to the sea beaches will be not allowed. The state administration, however, informed that colleges and schools (classes 9-12) will start as scheduled from 1 September.

No Ganpati processions allowed

The Tamil Nadu government also prohibited Ganesh Chaturthi processions ahead of the festive season as a preventative move. Individuals are allowed to bring Ganesh idols to the beaches to immerse them, but processions are prohibited, according to the state government. The action comes after a large increase of COVID-19 infections in India following Onam, with cases reaching an eight-week high.

Travel restrictions with Kerala

After Kerala registered 29,836 COVID-19 positive cases with a positivity rate of 19.67%, Tamil Nadu imposed tight border restrictions with its neighbour. The borders at Kaliyakkavilai near Nagercoil, and Walayar, which is part of the Coimbatore district, are being monitored by authorities from the Tamil Nadu health department and the police.

COVID-19 vaccination certificates or a negative RT-PCR test report taken within 72 hours of the journey are being verified by officials and police. It should be mentioned that numerous people from Kerala were disallowed to enter the state after failing to submit the documents at the Walayar border. The state government has published guidelines requiring tourists from Kerala to show either a two-dose completely vaccinated certificate or a negative RT-PCR certificate obtained within 72 hours of travel. Officials said that a lot of citizens are returning to Tamil Nadu from Kerala after the Onam celebrations and that the majority of them have not followed regulations.

COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, instances of COVID-19 have progressively declined below 1,600 in the last week, with 1,532 new cases reported on Monday. At least 21 people died as a result of the infection, although no one died in the state's southern districts. The 188 new infections recorded in Coimbatore (2.1% TPR), which continues to have the highest number of new cases in the state, have brought the total number of new cases in the eight western districts to 559. In the nine core districts, new cases jumped from 258 on Sunday to 301 on Monday. Thanjavur had 78 people, Trichy had 65, Thiruvarur had 41, and Nagapattinam had 40. The overall amount of active cases in this region increased from 2,850 on Sunday to 3,182 on Monday. For the past several days, Kerala has been reporting around 30,000 new Covid-19 cases, with the number of fatalities per day growing.

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