An unanimous resolution was passed by an all-party meeting led by TN chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday evening to intensify the on-going lockdown in Tamil Nadu on a day when the state reported 30,608 new cases taking the active caseload to 1,83,722. With 297 patients succumbing to the Covid19 virus on Thursday, the number of deaths is also rising.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu election: DMK to come in power after staying in opposition for a decade

From May 10 onwards, the state went into a full lockdown which will go on until May 24 to bring down rising cases in the second wave of Covid-19. Purchase of essential items like groceries is allowed until 12 noon. Restaurants can function only for takeaways and delivery executives are permitted. All other activities have been halted and marriages and funerals were allowed with a specific number of people. The specifics of how the restrictions and the partial lockdown will be further intensified are yet to be released by the government.

Health minister M Subramanian said after the meeting, “Officials will meet tonight to decide on the aspects to intensify the lockdown and make an announcement.”

Also Read: MK Stalin sworn in as the new CM of Tamil Nadu as DMK won a clear majority

At the meeting, a total of five resolutions were adopted. An advisory committee has been formed which would comprise representatives of all legislature parties in the state to make recommendations on control-measures. All parties would extend their cooperation for relief work. All political parties have agreed to stop organizing public meetings and political events and to set an example by adhering to the Covid-19 norms.

In the almost three-hours long meeting held at the state secretariat, Stalin said that the relaxations in the lockdown were announced only to ensure that livelihoods are not affected but people were using this as loopholes to violate lockdown norms.