Chennai, Jan 10 (IANS): The one-day lockdown on Sunday, announced by the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin was total with strong police contingents monitoring the movement of people and vehicles across the state.
While health care professionals including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and medical laboratory technicians were allowed to carry out their routine jobs, police were vigilant on people who had come out of their homes unnecessarily.
Police blocked the flyovers or in some flyovers, restricted entry was allowed. Passengers who were traveling to airports and railways stations were allowed by showing the journey tickets.
Suburban trains in Chennai worked with fifty percent occupancy. Metro rail services and bus services were not allowed to function.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister, Ma. Subramanian inspected several places in Chennai and met people who were traveling to airports and railway stations, and cautioned them on the spread of the new variant of Covid.
Ma. Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, "I went around some areas and told people who were traveling to airport and railway stations for their pre-planned travels to be cautious and to adhere to all Standard protocol measures announced by the health department including wearing masks, social distancing and use of sanitizers and washing of hands regularly with soap water."
The hotels were allowed only to deliver take away food parcels from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and food delivery boys were allowed to travel by showing their identity cards.
In a similar manner health workers, essential services like gas agency staff, petrol pump staff, electricity and water authority staff were allowed to travel with their identity cards.
Police also charged cases against people who did not wear masks and the total number of cases charged in the state is yet to be announced.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin had ordered a night curfew from 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and a Sunday lockdown on January 9th to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The Tamil Nadu health department is apprehensive of a huge spread of Covid-19 with both the delta and Omicron variant amounting to the spread.