The expert medical committee set up by the Tamil Nadu government has recommended the extension of the ongoing lockdown in the State by another two weeks, beyond April 14. This was recommended to Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami after a two-hour meeting in the Secretariat in Chennai.
The recommendation to extend the lockdown comes in the backdrop of the number of Covid-19 cases increasing every day, and crossing the 800 mark in the State on Thursday.
The State government had constituted a 19-member panel of medical experts to track the spread of Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu. The panel today met Palaniswami; Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and Chief Secretary K Shanmugam.
Despite all the efforts by the government, Covid-19 cases have been increasing. All the doctors in the panel felt that the lockdown should be extended for 14 more days, a panel member told newspersons after the meeting.
In fact, Palaniswami, on Thursday, said that an extension of the lockdown would be decided only after a discussion with the panel, and of the 12 coordination teams set up to combat the virus.
There is a possibility of Covid-19 moving to Stage 3 (community transmission) in Tamil Nadu, due to the increase in the number of cases. However, presently it is in Stage 2, and all efforts are being taken to ensure that it does not progress to the next stage, Palaniswami had said on Thursday.