Coronavirus Spreads To 34 Districts In Tamil Nadu As Cases Near 700

Coronavirus: Chennai fire department sanitises a locality near Marina Beach.

A 64-year old woman died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday taking the number of deaths due to the disease to seven in the state while the number of coronavirus cases rose to 690 with 69 more people testing positive, the government said. The highly contagious disease has now spread to 34 of the Tamil Nadu's 38 districts.

The woman, who died at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, had pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh said.

Of the new positive cases, as many as 63 were those linked to the religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area last month, she said.

The police in Chennai, meanwhile, warned that people violating prohibitory orders clamped to enforce the ongoing lockdown will be dealt with strictly and advised citizens to walk to the nearest stores to buy essential commodities including vegetables.

Chennai Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan said complaints have been received that many motorists travel farther under the pretext of buying essentials, even as the state has enforced a lockdown as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The government had earlier cut the business hours of shops selling essential items such as vegetables by 90 minutes after it expressed concern that the lockdown rules were not being followed by the public properly.

"Essential commodities will be available in the vicinity, within 1-2 km. People can walk to the shops to buy them," Mr Viswanathan told reporters.

As suggested by the government, one can buy stocks for a week and should not venture out of their homes every day for this purpose, he added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami had on Saturday announced that shops selling essential items can remain open only from 6 am to 1 pm, while earlier they were allowed to function till 2:30 pm.

The government's curbs relating to shops remaining open was announced after Mr Palaniswami warned of tightening the ongoing lockdown on Friday as many were not following the prohibitory orders.

The state has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which bans the assembly of more than five people, to implement the lockdown.

So far cases have been booked against 30,000 people and 12,000 vehicles have been seized in this connection in the city, Chennai Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan said.

"People should realise the seriousness (of the situation) and protect themselves and their families," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)