The State government currently has no formal proposal to intensify the lockdown curbs in Chennai and three neighbouring districts, a top official has said.
But it may have to consider the option of allowing only essential services in the city sooner rather than later, he added.
If the government decides to go for this option, the restrictions it would entail are likely to be equivalent to what the State had witnessed under ‘Lockdown 1.0’, which began on March 25 and was in force for about a month.
On Thursday, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur accounted for as many as 1,624 of the 1,837 fresh COVID-19 cases reported across the State.
The present set of conditions is definitely expected to remain in force till Sunday, as Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami is currently in Salem, another official said.
‘Tighten movement’
Already, the police have been instructed to ‘tighten’ the movement of people out of Chennai, and e-passes are being issued only for ‘genuine cases’, the official said.
When asked whether any formal order had been issued for this, the official said there was “no need for any separate order”.