The State government may not be inclined to impose, for the time being, stronger measures than what has been done to contain the spread of COVID-19, although the Health Department favoured severe restrictions.
The government order restraining functioning of cinemas, auditoriums, gyms, bars, recreation clubs, big-format shops, shopping complexes and malls came into effect on Monday. E-registration has been mandatory for those entering the State with the exception of those arriving from Puducherry.
Explaining the government’s position, a senior official said the Health department wanted tough restrictions to be enforced but “we preferred this to a general lockdown with exemptions and passes.”
‘No drastic changes’
The authorities are aware that the number of cases will keep rising for another two to three weeks. As a new government is likely to take charge in the first week of May, “no drastic changes” are expected till then, said the official.
Although the talk of a total lockdown has been doing the rounds in the light of about 340% increase in the State’s daily tally of COVID-19 from April 5 to April 25, there have been suggestions against such a course of action.
R. Subash, a financial services consultant, argued that as the government had adequate manpower, it could go in for “localised and targeted containment” instead of a blanket ban on all types of economic activity. Last time, the curve of the disease flattened three or four months after the lockdown was lifted. But this time, “lockdown is not likely to flatten the curve because dynamics of the disease are said to be different,” he said. In his view, in the event of the imposition of a complete lockdown, there would be adverse secondary and tertiary effects on the economy.
However, K.E. Raghunathan, convener of the Consortium of Indian Associations, which works in the area of MSMEs, wanted the movement of the public to be allowed only between 7 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Employers should be told to arrange transport for their staff.
During the restrictions, the police should be told to allow movement of vehicles only for emergency purposes. The government should run free buses within the city for those who have to attend to emergencies and for those without the means of their own transport. “Through such measures, you can save both livelihood and lives,” he said. In respect of people above 45, Mr. Raghunathan suggested that vaccines should to be administered at their door step.
K.R. Shanmugam, director, Madras School of Economics, said even the present restrictions reflected 50% of a “total lockdown.”
On the question of adopting “localised and targeted containment,” another senior official said it is difficult to implement as “you cannot deploy police everywhere”. Besides “police casualties are rising.”
At present, “we have a graded response. The lockdown may be next step, if the present restrictions do not serve the purpose,” the official adds.
