Chennai unlock 2.0 news: Today's updates

Lockdown with relaxations, currently in force across Tamil Nadu, is likely to continue until August-end. Stay with us for all the latest updates.
*The economic impact of the lockdown and Covid-19 outbreak for the past four months have made a cascading effect on the demand for houses for rent in Trichy city and its suburbs. While houses having high rents were finding no takers, there is much demand for budget houses within the city and suburbs from people who want to cut down their monthly expenses amid the lockdown.
*The health department has decided to bring in 50 doctors from multiple resources to intensify Coimbatore Corporation’s fever camps.
* Update at 9.55am: The total number of Covid-19 samples tested up to 27th July is 1,73,34,885 including 5,28,082 samples tested yesterday, reports ANI quoting ICMR
* Update at 9.42am: The recovery rate among Covid-19 patients has increased to 64.23%. The recoveries/deaths ratio is 96.6%:3.4% now, reports ANI quoting Government of India
* Update at 9.38am: Single-day spike of 47,704 positive cases & 654 deaths in India in the last 24 hours. Total Covid-19 positive cases stand at 14,83,157 including 4,96,988 active cases, 9,52,744 cured/discharged/migrated & 33,425 deaths, reports ANI quoting health ministry
*Greater Chennai Corporation has instructed government hospitals in the city to ready a ‘suspect Covid-19 ward’ to admit patients who are wheeled in with complaints of breathlessness but are not confirmed Covid-19 cases.
*Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu is holding special fever camps for industries, collecting around 1,000 swab samples from workers, almost 33% of the daily samples lifted in the district.
*Soon, mobile ration shops stocked with sacks of rice, sugar, dal, and sachets of edible oil and carrying staff armed with point of sale (PoS) devices may crisscross the roads. With just months to go for assembly polls, the state government will roll out within a week 3,501 mobile ration shops across the state to take the commodities to the doorstep. The cooperatives department is working out the logistics, including renting out vehicles to deliver the goods to the needy areas. There has been a growing demand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver essentials at the doorstep instead of tackling crowds at ration shops.
*CM Edappadi K Palaniswami has launched distribution of free face masks through PDS outlets in the state.
*Several areas in Chennai have turned into zero segregation zones now, with animators meant to create awareness about separating waste being diverted to Covid-19 management.
*Giving a breather for industries depending on guest workers, the Tamil Nadu government has issued standard operating procedures (SOP) to bring in guest workers from other states. The government has now made it mandatory for employers to enrol the workers in the labour department’s online portal. Labourers, who test negative for Covid-19 on entry into the state, should be under quarantined for 14 days.