After Ranipet reported one COVID-19 positive case on Thursday, taking the tally to 40, the district administration has decided to take stringent measures to control the crowd.
It announced a complete lockdown of entry points to Ranipet district, allowing only vehicles carrying essential commodities.
Those who venture out after 1 p.m. would be dealt with severely, cautioned Superintendent of Police, A. Myilvaganan.
Illicit brewing of liquor would be curtailed in the district and offenders would be booked under Goondas Act, he said. From the start of this year, 241 persons had been arrested in the district for illicit brewing of liquor. Five of them were booked under Goondas Act.
As many as 3,643 cases were booked and 3,947 people arrested during lockdown. Over 3400 vehicles were seized from the offenders, he said.
A 58-year old man who returned from Maharashtra developed flu-like symptoms and was admitted in Walajah GH, where he tested positive for COVID-19 infection. He was shifted to Government Vellore Medical College Hospital, Adukkamparai, on Thursday.
The driver who brought him and his contacts in Vaniyambadi were quarantined, though their test results proved negative. The leather factory where the driver visited after dropping the infected man was disinfected by the Vaniyambadi Municipality.