The district administration has announced that a total lockdown will be imposed in the district on April 26 (Sunday). All shops will remain closed and people should not come out of their homes for any reason. Medical emergencies are exempted and hospitals and pharmacies will remain open.
District Collector V. Anbuselvan said that stringent action would be taken against those violating the prohibitory orders under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897.
Although the official machinery has been taking various measures to enforce the lockdown, people continued to come out of their homes to visit markets and other places without safety masks. To ensure strict compliance of the lockdown measures, the administration has introduced three types of ‘colour cards’ that allow residents to come out of their houses twice a week to buy essential commodities.
Green cardholders would be allowed to go out for purchase of essentials on Monday and Thursdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.; blue cardholders on Tuesday and Fridays and pink cardholders on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The colour card system has been effective to some extent and in a bid to fine-tune it further, the administration has announced that a total lockdown will be clamped in the district on Sunday, an official said.
