District administration along with the Mettupalayam Municipality on Wednesday removed the containment restrictions on 10 streets. The administration had imposed the restrictions on 14 streets after 27 persons from within the municipal limits had tested positive for COVID-19.
Wednesday marked the end of 14 days after the return of the last person from treatment, a necessity for removing the quarantine restrictions, and therefore the administration and the Municipality decided to lift the restrictions, the sources said.
The areas were the restrictions were removed – Balaji Nagar (Naicker Thottam), Sherif Nagar, Madhar Palli Lane, Sirumugai Road (near Aroma Bakery), Medhar Pillaiyar Street, S.M. Nagar, Annaji Rao Road, L.S. Puram, Perumal Layout and K.K. Nagar Second Street.
Of the four remaining areas or streets under containment, the administration and the Municipality would remove the one area on May 9, two areas on May 12 and the last on May 14.
Currently, 15 people were in quarantine in Mettupalayam. Three of those had returned from Pune, Maharashtra, and the rest from Koyembedu in Chennai.
The administration, Municipality and Mettupalayam Police had placed barricades at the city border to monitor movement of vehicles entering the town, particularly the entry of vehicles from the Koyembedu vegetable market.
Sources in the town said that lifting of barricades would not make much of a difference as people were in any case moving in and out of the area on one pretext or the other. The municipal officials, however, denied the charge saying the police were in complete control of the areas, monitoring round-the-clock.